CHAPTER IV 

 BIRDS' EGGS 



THERE has been a great deal of foolish 

 writing and speaking on the subject of 

 birds'-nesting. When the writers of a 

 certain class of tales for young people wish to 

 describe a very bad boy, they usually call him 

 ' a robber of birds' nests.' He may be further 

 characterized as rude to his mother, or unkind 

 to his sisters, a breaker of windows, or a 

 truant from school ; but the head and front 

 of his offending is his alleged cruelty to the 

 birds. 



Now, it is undoubtedly a cruel and 

 cowardly act to wantonly destroy the nests 

 or eggs of any bird ; but to collect the eggs 

 of birds in a proper and scientific manner is 

 not wanton destruction. Indeed, the surest 

 way to prevent a boy from being cruel to 

 birds, and to make him take an interest in 



