10 bird's-nesting. 



as efficacious for a short time (in some cases, for a 

 long period) , is not to skin the birds, but simply to 

 pour down their throats, through a small funnel, a 

 few drops of pyroligneous acid, and to saturate the 

 feathers, especially about the vent, with the same 

 fluid ; after leaving them to dry for an hour or so, 

 they may be wrapped in paper and packed. This 

 might be a useful plan on rapid and extended trips, 

 when strange species were to be collected and there 

 was not opportunity or skill for preserving the skin ; 

 but alcohol about 70 per cent, strong is superior to all 

 other means of preservation of the entire bird, for 

 purposes either of identification or subsequent study. 

 No pains should be considered too great to secure 

 the certain identification of each set of eggs. If 

 identification be impossible, however, the eggs may 

 still be preserved, as the species can usually be 

 approximated, if not absolutely determined, l^y an 

 expert oologist. But such eggs should always be 

 kept separate from the collection until there is no 

 doubt about them, and even then the record should 

 show by whom and in what manner they were named. 



CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS. 



It is often extremely difficult to make an unques- 

 tionable determination ; as for instance, when many 



