THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



185 



became alarmefl ; one of them stood up 

 on very sliaky legs, and almost threw it- 

 self out, but I kept very still, and it 

 soon be(;ame more composed. When 

 they both became fully aware of my in- 

 tentions they at once began to settle 

 themselves in a comfortable pose, and 

 made an endeavour to look pleasant. 

 After the camera finally clicked tliey 

 moved about uneasily, and I was not 

 quite sure whether their looks indicated 

 relief or disappointment l)ecause the 

 "bird did not fly out." 



EG(J COLLECTIXG COXDKilXED. 



That thousands of boys tliroughout 

 the Commonwealth indulge in egg col- 

 lecting is a fact that has lately been 

 brought home to nie in a very practical 

 way. Boxes of eggs are being con- 

 tinually sent in to the Museum to l)e 

 named for the owner. Most of these 

 collections contain only one egg from 

 each clutch, without any data or infor- 

 mation of any sort; there are no loca- 

 lities given, no information as to tlie 

 kind of nest, nothing beyond a bundle 

 of eggs. In view of this such a collec- 

 tion is of no use at all either for a 

 Museum or for any worker in ornitho- 

 logy. Very often it is impossible to 

 name correctly many of the eggs sent 

 in because of the absence of valuable 

 data; for instance, several species of 

 birds lay eggs which ai"e almost identical 

 in colour, shape, and size, and in such 

 cases it is necessary to have a know- 

 ledge of the kind of nest from which 

 they came, otherwise only guess work 

 can be employed. 



I think it necessary to write a few 

 words condemning the deplorable des- 

 truction done to our bird fauna by the 

 boy who persists in i-obbing nests. In 

 the first place many of the birds that 

 are rol)l)ed of their eggs are protected, 

 at least for several months of the year, 

 this period of protection always includ- 

 ing the breeding season. It seems ol)- 

 vious, though it apparently is not to 

 many people, that protection during the 

 breeding season applies not only to the 

 parents but also to the young, that they 

 may mature without being disturbed or 

 destroyed by man, therefore, as the nest 

 and eggs are necessary to produce the 



young, anyone who I'obs a nest of eggs 

 is in rea.lity committing a breach of the 

 Birds and Animals Protection Act. From 

 the ]ionit of view of law, steps sboii'.d be 

 taken to stop this, and from a national 

 and sentimental i)oint of view it sliould 

 be strongly condemned tis a cruel sport, 

 niore often than not carried out because 

 of a personal vanity on the part of the 

 collectoi' wlio wislies to obtain a greater 

 number of varieties than his iiialc. The 

 l)oy knows no better l)ecause lie has 

 never been taught, so his parents and 

 his school teachers should impress ui)on 

 Iiim that it is not only a breacli of the 

 Act but gross cruelty. The best way is 

 to show him something more interesting 

 than robbing the nests, for instance he 

 might be encouraged to take up the 

 study of natural history; he might be 

 shown that it is most interesting to watch 

 a bird build, lay its eggs and hatch 

 them out, and to watch it feeding its 

 young. If he kept a note book in which 

 to jot down all this information giving 

 the complete dates of all happenings, 

 and if he has a camera, and could make 

 photographs from life, it would not be 

 long before he became such a nature- 

 loving l)oy that he would not only give 

 up nest robbing, but he Avould find the 

 life study so interesting and profitable 

 that lie would soon learn to protect his 

 birds, and encourage others to do the 

 same. 



Among recent visitors from overseas 

 were. Dr. F. H. Krenkow, of Quorn, 

 Leicestershire, a keen entomologist, 

 whose principal study is, however, Semi- 

 tic languages; Mr. W. W. Hornell, 

 Director of Public Instruction, Bengal, 

 and Trustee of the Indian Museum, Cal- 

 cutta; Mr. Walter C. :\read, Trustee of 

 the Colorado Museum, Denver; Profes- 

 sor C. A. Chant, and Dr. Young, of the 

 University of Toronto, Canada, accom- 

 panied by Mrs. and Miss Chant, who 

 were on tlieir way to WoUal, Western 

 Australia, to observe the solar eclipse; 

 Dr. Venkata Ran, ^[.A., of ]\fadras, who is 

 specially interested in entomology in re- 

 lation to plant life, and is returning to 

 India after a course of study in England 

 and America. 



