THE OOLOGIST 



111 



about a foot across was finely lined 

 with wool left on the bushes by the 

 sheep which graze on the hills in great 

 numbers. The eggs were fresh and 

 measured as follows: 2.09x1.37, 2.06x 

 1.37, 2.04x1.35, 1.88x1.31, 1 80x1.31. 



They ure a light bluish-green in 

 ground color spotted and dashed with 

 dai'k brown and olive. One egg was 

 slightly jammed in the nest but was 

 safely blown and the break would not 

 be noticed. I now gathered up the 

 rope and turned homeward well satis- 

 fied with my afternoon's work. 



On the morning of March 29th I vis- 

 ited the nest again accompanied by my 

 brother. Finding nothing in it and 

 observing that the wool was mostly 

 torn out of the bottom I visited a neigh- 

 boring cliff of about the same height 

 from which I had seen the Ravens liy. 

 There to my surprise about 20 feet 

 from the bottom of the cliff was a nest 

 containing four slightly incubated eggs. 

 The nest and eggs were similar to the 

 first ones although the nest was small- 

 er. The eggs measure 2.04x1.36, 2,01x 

 1.34, 1.94x1.32, 1.91x1.30. 



On April. 18th I again visited the old 

 nest from which 1 took six slightly in- 

 cubated eggs one of which was consid- 

 erably smaller than the othei'S and 

 more lightly marked. Thej' measured 

 2.05x1.30, 2.04x1.33, 2.03x1.31, 1.99x1.31, 

 1.95x1.29, 1.75x1.10. 



In each instance while descending to 

 the nest the Ravens after sailing around 

 and ci'oaking to': a short time left the 

 vicinity of the nest and did not I'eturn. 

 I hope to obtain still another set of 

 eggs from one of the nests this season, 

 although I think the Ravens have done 

 comparatively well for one pair of 

 birds. Geo. Willett, Jr., 



Wbittier, Calif. 



On Collecting and Preparing Nests. 



Not much attention is taken of this 

 very important branch of the science 



which the Oologist faithfully repre- 

 sents. My aim in writing this is not to 

 treat fully of nest-collecting, but only 

 to give "a starter" and at the same 

 time to give a few ideas which I have 

 picked up from time to time. 



In the preparation of nests few tools 

 are necessary. A good outfit is several 

 spools of strong black thread and about 

 a dozen needles Varying in length from 

 a half to two and a half feet. These 

 can be easily made from strong steel 

 wire, cut into the proper lengths, heat- 

 ed on one end, pounded flat and then a 

 nail hole punched in the end of each. It 

 is also absolutely necessary to have a 

 good supply of poihon on hand. A 

 good one is soap strongly impregnated 

 with arsenic. When used it should be 

 cut off into fine shavings. Quite a 

 number of small camphor balls are also 

 handy. 



Different sorts of nests require differ- 

 ent treatment. Let us begin with the 

 easiest. But first allow me to say to 

 always take a nest if possible, with its 

 support. Now to return to the subject 

 in hand. 



Well woven and compact nests like 

 those of the Goldfinch, Blue-gray 

 Gnatcatcher, etc., require only to be 

 well disinfected. 



Nests built of mud interwoven with 

 straw as Robin, Blackbird, etc., will in 

 time crumble if left as found. But if 

 carefully sewed in and out several 

 times and the threads finally brought 

 under and ai'ound the support, it will 

 then, when poisoned, be proof against 

 all ordinary wear. 



In the preparation of nests which are 

 built flat on the support, as Swallows, 

 •'Ground-birds," etc., it is wellto bind 

 them securely to a piece of cardboard 

 placing on the board near the nest 

 some of the surroundings found in its 

 natural position. 



Care must be taken in any of the above 

 nests to conceal the thread and not give 

 them a drawn or tight shape, for noth- 



