^rai-. IcSDO.J 



AND OOLOGIST. 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST>.*'00LOGIST 



A .Monthly .>Ia;;aziiio ol 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



KSPECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STl l)V OF 



BIRDS, 



THEIR NESTS AND EfiCS, 



and to tlie 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS. 



rnder the Editorial .Manai;tMnent of 



KHANK 15. WEHSTEU, 



.1. rAKKEK Nomas, 



l-'KANK A. HATES, 



]5oston, .Mass. 



I'hiladelpliia, Pa. 



Hostou, Mass. 



I'lULisnEi) .\r 



FRANK B. WEBSTER'S 



N .\ r r U A LiSTb" SUPPLY DEPOT, 



Hosrox, :Mass,, U. S. a. 



The O. & O. is mailed each issue to every paid sub- 

 seril)er. If von fail to receive it, iiotifv us. 



EditoriaL 



Tlie gieat majority of oolooical collectors 

 are honest, and when they send oute^^gs which 

 are not correct it is owino' to if^norance or to 

 want of proper identilication. Unfortunately, 

 however, there are those who are positively 

 dishonest, and whose "errors" are the result 

 of a deliberate intention to defraud. 



In this class we must place the collector who 

 sent out eoo's of the common Eno'lisii Sj)arrow 

 {I^iiNHi'r (liijiK'xtirii.s) and called tliem on the 

 data Fox Sparrow {PdNscrcllK ilitird,) and also 

 sent Osprey's e<4'j;s for (Jyrfalcon'sl There 

 was no mistake about tliat, and it must have 

 l)een (h)ne desifjiiedly, 



'l"he same man sent out e<;<;s of the Lapwinjjj 

 l]'<nii'lliis ri(ui'lhis) for those of the American 

 (Jolden Plover (('/niritdriiin diniiiiiicus), and 

 wrote on the data that they were collected by 

 liis collector on board of I'. S. Steamer Corwin 

 on its voyage to Alaska! lie had no collector 

 on board of that t)r any other vessel, and de- 

 liberately tried to defraud. 



His latest exploit was taking ejjgs of the 

 common Kingbird (Ti/rnnnK.s t!/ra)})iii.s) and by 

 introducing a thick solution of vermillion 

 water-color paint inside an<l tiirough their 

 blow holes they were made to assuaie some- 

 what of the roseate or pinkish luie which is 



characteristic of the (oay Kingbird (T..il(>inin- 

 ireii.sl.s), and that is wliat he called them. 



Another man sent a set of Common Dove's 

 eggs (ZeiKiidurd, iimcrourd) and called, them 

 eggs of the Poor Will {PhalmwpUlm nuttaUi), 

 l)ut lie forgot to rub out the Dove's number 

 before marking tiie eggs as Poor Will's! 



A western collector sent a set of eggs of the 

 Common Tern {Sfcnict lilrumhi) and actually 

 had the impudence to label tliem Woodcock 

 {PltiloheUi itihior). 



An eastern man took a set of Bank Swallow's 

 eggs {Cl'uHcoUt rii>i(ri(t) and decorated them 

 with minute sjjots of oil paint of a reddish- 

 brown hue, and then called tliem Canadian 

 Warbler (St/lcnnin cawuleiiKis). 



Of the men who procure European eggs and 

 pass them off as genuine eggs of closely allied 

 North American species it is not necessary to 

 speak, as tliis is an old game and the parties 

 who practise it are well known. 



These dishonest practices are a disgrace to 

 those who pursue them, and if it can be 

 stopped in no other way, they should be ex- 

 posed to warn all honest men of their true 

 character. 



Correspondence. 



C. J. Maynard is Good Authority. 



Editor O. »fc O.: 



I have just now found time to look through 

 Maynard' s eggs of \orth American Birds, 

 which I received from you just before starting 

 south. I consider it the best book of the 

 kind ever published. It is condensed down 

 into a convenient size to use for reference and 

 as the ])rice is very reasonable I do not see 

 how anyone interested in oology can at^'ord to 

 be without it. In looking thrtuigh the water 

 birds I was very much pleased at the accuracy 

 of Prof, Maynard' s description of the nesting of 

 the Common, Arctic and Roseate Terns, He 

 says: "The nesting habits of the three last 

 given species serve to identify the eggs in a 

 measure. No. 70 nests in sand hills, but sel- 

 dom (-onstructs much of a nest, a little grass 

 only being used; No. 71 lays on the naked sand 

 without a nest; N(». 1'2 in the sand-hills and 

 constructs a more or less elaborate nest of 

 sticks." I have had a vast experience in ob- 

 serving the nesting habits of these three terns 

 on our N. E. coast, and it coincides exactly 

 with Prof. Maynard' s remarks. 



The plates are accurately drawn, especially 

 those of the water and game birds. Taking it as 



