[Introductory 
seems to chew his food, and eats very frequently ; if given any- 
thing, either eatable or otherwise, he holds it, hawk-fashion, with 
his feet (or foot) and quickly picks it to pieces, usually prying it 
apart with his sharply pointed beak. The rose-breasted grosbeaks 
eat nearly all the time, even late at night, and I fancy this accounts 
for their tendency to become very fat when in captivity. So it 
may be seen that each bird is a study by itself. 
Undoubtedly this same individuality exists in birds when in 
their wild state, perhaps even to a greater degree, but it is more 
difficult to discover. Some nests show individual peculiarities, 
but whether the same bird builds the same kind of nest each year 
is, of course, unknown. 
The object of this book, I may repeat, is to stimulate the love 
of birds ; and though descriptions of nests and eggs are given, as 
well as instructions for egg-collecting, it must be borne in mind 
that it is generally neither necessary nor advisable that collections 
of eggs should be made. Remember that, as Mr. Frank Chapman 
says, the two points of interest in a bird’s egg are ‘‘ what the egg 
is in and what is in the egg.” Much more knowledge may be 
gained by observing the birds themselves throughout the breeding 
season than by taking the eggs. Leave egg-collecting to those 
who are able, through scientific study, to make use of such col- 
lections and devote your leisure hours to the far more interesting 
process of collecting knowledge which will lend increased interest 
to your every-day existence and give you new insight into the 
fascinating world of bird-life. 
10 
