THE OOLOGIST. 



43 



workers in ths field of Oology is stead- 

 ily on the increase and while we extend 

 a hearty welcome to new adherants we 

 are still inclined to disapprove of all at- 

 tempts to belter establish method. For 

 the benefit of advanced students, who 

 have not participated in the joys of the 

 exchange column, I will make so bold 

 as to volunteer a few suggest io us in ac- 

 cordance to my experience. 



Eggs should be collected in sets. A 

 set is the number of eggs found in any 

 one nest when the bird has ceased lay- 

 ing or may be a selection from a "job 

 lot" varying in number to suit purchas- 

 er or the second party in an exchange 

 transaction. Was once oft'ered a set of 

 14 eggs of the Catbird accompanied 

 with the assurance of its being an un- 

 usual number In reply I heartily 

 agreed with the coll ctor that such 

 large sets of that sptcies were very un- 

 usual and while I highly appreciated 

 his generosity ia offering to part with 

 so great a rareity, I could not find it in 

 my heart to take advantage of such 

 noble sacrifice by accepting. 



If you are an eastern collector prefix 

 the word western to sets of the Blue- 

 bird ami Robin you collect. This en- 

 ables you to gladden the he:irt of some 

 eastern 06iugi>t by affording him the 

 opportunity to secure the rarer western 

 varieties. Have known this to occur 

 and why it should be done is, of course, 

 an insoiuable mystery when we refiect 

 that the eastern variety is of much less 

 value. Have also known of a set of 

 Red- headed Woodpecker to be sent to 

 California as such and later returned 

 east as the California species. 



Identification is of vital importance 

 and should be irfluenced by the value 

 of different species, when possible. For 

 illustration we will assume that a set 

 is found in a bush by the roadside and 

 bears every indication of being that of 

 Yellow Warbler but the eggs differ 

 somewhat from the general run. You 

 consult some work on birds and discov- 



er they fit description of Golden- 

 winged Warbler and label them accord- 

 ingly. Now, as you wish to dispose of 

 them and spare a fellow collector the 

 pain of suspicion, you simply shift loca- 

 tion of nest on data to clump of ferns 

 in woods and again refering to the 

 book can easily ascertain its composi- 

 tion. 



Blow your eggs through as large a 

 hole as possible, especially if fresh. 

 This enables you to feel inside with 

 your finger and make sure the contents 

 has been thoroughly removed. 



In packing eggs for transportation 

 line a box with cotton aad dump them 

 in. Do not forget the lining of cotton 

 as otherwise the eggs will bump against 

 the box and injure it. It is not advisa- 

 ble to carefully wrap each egg in a gen- 

 erous sti'ip of cotton owing to the grave 

 danger of shipment reaching destina- 

 tion without accident. 



J. Claire Wood, Detroit, Mich. 



Nesting Habits on the Black-throated 

 Green Warbler. 



The Warbler is quite common in this 

 locality and arrives here the last of 

 April and the first week in May. Its 

 favorite resorts and nesting places are 

 thick spruce and pine forests on the 

 slope of a hill. The nest is usually 

 placed on a fork of a coniferous tree 

 generally a spruce or pine with thick 

 foliage and well out on a limb within 

 a few feet of the tip usually at no great 

 height. My note book says from 6 to 

 20 ft. from the ground ten or twelve be- 

 ing'height, in 1898 I had the good luck 

 to find three nests with eggs of this 

 Warbler May 26 No. 1, 5 fresh eggs,, 

 nest placed on a horizontal limb of a 

 pine tree near an old wood road, nest 

 made of pine twigs, strips of bark and^ 

 grass, lined with hair and feathers cov- 

 ered on the outside with birch bark 

 making it very conspicuous against the 

 green foliage of the tree. May 28 No 2 



