NAMING EGGS. 9 



— the titmice and woodpeckers, for example ; those 

 which, like the hawks, are able to repel intrusion ; 

 and lastly, species naturally exceedingly wild and 

 solitary, as some of the marsh birds : but even these 

 are more likely to be found near our homes than 

 far away,*^ — out in the sunshine, rather than back in 

 the gloom. 



NAMING EGGS. 



Precision in the identification of his specimens — 

 that is, the ascertaining without any possible mistake 

 the name of the bird that laid the eggs in question, 

 — must be the main object of the egg-collector, to 

 attain which all others must give way. When, there- 

 fore, a nest containing eggs, or one newly constructed, 

 is discovered, it should not be disturbed, if possible, 

 before the parents have been taken, or well observed 

 sitting upon it or hovering near, and thus identified. 

 Horsehair snares arranged about a nest, or a daubing 

 of bird-lime, will often secure the parent bird. If 

 the species cannot otherwise be positively determined 

 (and generally in any case), a parent bird should be 

 shot; and either the whole skin be prepared, or a 

 portion — as the head and wing — preserved for iden- 

 tification. The bird may also be thrown into alcohol 

 and thus easily kept. Another method, recommended 



