The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XVII. NO. 3. 



ALBION. N. Y., MARCH, 1900. 



Whole No. 164 



The Oologist. 



A Monthly Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND 

 TAXIDERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of Interest to the 

 student of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: 



Single subscription 50c per annum 



Sample copies 5c each 



The above rates Include payment of postage. 



Bach subscriber is given a card good for a 

 Want, Exchange or For Sale Notice. (This card 

 Is redeemable at any time within one year from 

 date thereon.) 



Subscriptions can begin with any number. 

 Back numbers of the Oologist can be furnished 

 at reasonable rates. Send stamp for descrip- 

 tions and prices. 



^^Remember that the publisher must be notl 

 fled by letter when a subscriber wishes his paper 

 stopped, and all arrearages must be paid. 



ADVERTISING RATES : 



5 cents per nonpareil line each insertion. 



12 lines Ui every inch. Seven Inches in a col- 

 umn, and two columns to the page. 



Nothing inserted for less than 25 cents. No 

 "special rates," 5 cents per line is "net," "rock 

 bottom," "inside," "spot cash" rate from which 

 there is no deviation and no commission to 

 agents. If you wish to use 5 lines or less space 

 It will cost you 25 cents; loo Unes, $5.00; 1000 lines, 

 $50.00. "Trade" (other than cash) advertise- 

 ments will be accepted by special arrangement 

 only and at rates from double to five times cash 

 rates. Due BiUs and Cards payable in advertis- 

 ing wiU be honored only at regular rates in force 

 at the date of issuance of said bill or card. 



Remittances should be made by Draft, Express 

 or Postoffice Money Order, Registered Letter or 

 Postal Note. Unused U. S . Postage Stamps of 

 any denomination will be accepted for sums un- 

 der one dallar. Make Money Orders and Drafts 

 payable and address all subscriptions and com- 

 munications to FRANK H. LATTIN, 



Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y. 



r TUC POIT OFHCe AT ALSTON, 



Nesting- Materials. 



The materials that birds use for nest 

 building are many and various; and we 

 can almost say that everything is used 

 in nest construction by some species of 

 bird. Among the varied assortment we 



shall find bones and stones, string and 

 raps, bnir and feathers, roots and bark, 

 catkins and plant down, oast off skins 

 of insects, snakes and even small mam- 

 mals' pelts, aad hundreds of other arti- 

 cles too numerous to mention. These 

 articles are selected by the birds in the 

 construction of their nests, and .4 re gath- 

 ered from far and near. Then th<^re are 

 the materials which manv species of 

 birds supply from their own persons, as 

 the down of the ducks' nests, and the 

 glue of the chimney swift, which it se- 

 cretes for the purpose. 



It is an easy matter to study nest con- 

 struction as followed in the spring of 

 the year, but it is much easier to study 

 the make-up of these nests in the au- 

 tumn, winter or early spring when the 

 leaves do not cover the trees, and furth- 

 ermore we are not as liable to damage 

 our little friends, as they have left their 

 homes for the winter in the south, and. 

 will build anew when they return to us. 

 As quite one-third of the birds of Amer- 

 ica nest on the ground or within a very 

 few feet of it, it is not a difficult matter 

 to study them in their nesting habits, 

 and as well, secure the nests for inspec- 

 tion and the collection. There are many 

 amateur collectors who are very con- 

 siderate in regard to robbing the birds, 

 and prefer to watch and study rather 

 than take the eggs. Some of these stud- 

 ents, and I wish there were more of 

 them, gather the different kinds of nests 

 after the nesting season is over and 

 label them as naturalists do with speci- 

 mens in their various departments. 



Thoreau, that interesting out- door ob- 

 server and graphic writer, was a pleased 

 student of birds' nests in the winter, 

 and in one of his diary entries in Janu- 

 ary we find this: "Another bright win- 

 ter's day. To the woods to see what 



