The Oologist. 



VOL. XII. NO. 10. 



ALBION, N. y., OCTOBER, 1895. Whole No. 120 



A Hangirg and the Lesson in It. 



[Concluded jrom last Number.) 



Interesting though it may be, in.stead of 

 going to libraries — all blessings on 

 them and those who have made them — 

 let us go to that great library of ani- 

 mated nature, whose volumes are the 

 life histories of animals and the pages 

 ai'e their pleasant actions. To him who 

 will sit down in field or wood and in- 

 telligently question Nature with live 

 SBnses shall shortly be opened up some- 

 thing new and iuterestiug. 



I covet some authentic notes on the 

 habits of birds much more than I covet 

 their eggs and nests; and how much 

 more to be desired is the knowledge of 

 the habits and traits of the wild deni- 

 zens of the field and wood than their 

 dead skins and skeletons. True, it 

 takes much longer to find out some- 

 thing new about a bird than it does to 

 collect its nest and eggs and fill out a 

 data blank; so also does it take more 

 wits and more training — though when 

 the collector goes far enough he is 

 merged into the naturalist. 



Then, it may be, that the nest, eggs 

 and skins will bring the most dollars 

 and cents; but surely no naturalist is 

 led on by a niggardly monetary stan- 

 dard. And on the valuation scale of 

 truth methinks a page of good notes 

 will out-weigh quite a few sets oi eggs 

 or skins of birds. 



All this sermonizing has been done 

 not so much for the elders as for the 

 benefit of the youngers or youngsters — 

 I beg their pardon for that word. The 

 "old fellows" 1 have neither wish nor 

 hope of converting from their evil ways 

 — provided they are in evil ways, which 



I doubt. I wish to ur^e.as I have been 

 urging, to a more exclusive devotion 

 to observation, as emphasized against 

 mere collecting. 



It is apparent that the time is not far 

 distant when collecting in this country 

 must to a great extent, be suppressed. 

 It is not without pain and apprehension 

 that older naturalists note the falling 

 off in numbers of almost every species 

 of bird, mammal, reptile and even rare 

 and local flowers. And when the time 

 comes for protection to plant its deter- 

 mined foot against the collector and 

 collector-naturalist — happy may the ob- 

 server-naturalist well be for he may 

 still bag his annual note- book full of 

 game. 



In antithesis to the article quoted, I 

 have a case to prcvsent which came un- 

 der my notice in June, 1894. The pho- 

 tograph with which this is illustrated is 

 of the identical nest, though another 

 female English Sparrow was used in 

 lieu of the one which was actually, 

 hung. ' The lesson in it" lies in the 

 conclusions drawn from the cirum- 

 stances of the case. The lesson in care- 

 fulness and slowness in approaching 

 results in the examination of such ob- 

 scure cases could scarcely be better 

 sought than in this particular instance. 

 Of all groups of animals whether it be 

 among insects, birds or mammals those 

 which are sociable or gregarious seem 

 the most human-like, and intei'est most 

 people more than such species as dwell 

 in isolated pairs. Witness ants, bees, 

 wasps, beavers, prairie dogs, "quails" 

 some of the Swallows— a complete list 

 of the sociable animals would be long. 

 The Eave Swallows or "Republicans" 

 as they are called fi'om their social hab- 

 its since more appropi-iately called 

 Cliff Swallows {Petrochelidon lunifrons) 



