The Oologist. 



VOL. XVII. NO. 5. 



ALBION. N. Y., MAY. 1900. 



Whole No. 166 



The Oologist. 



A MontMy Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND 

 TAXIDERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of Interest to tlie 

 student of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



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t«»v 1".t ST v«E f^>rT OmCE AT AUrtJM, N. Y., M SEOOMIMHJkSS MATTEK. 



Work to Do. 



Richard C. McGregor. 



Among the many readers of The 



Oologist there are probably not a few 



bird and egg collectors who have been 



exposulated With, for their wanton and 



cruel acts, by well meaning acquaint- 

 ances. When we remember that these 

 people do not understand the pleasure 

 of wading knee-deep in the marsh for 

 Coot's and Blackbird's eggs, or of 

 tramping twenty miles a day for a 

 Hawk's nest, we can smile and forgive 

 them. But what rasps one, is to read 

 the opinions expressed by some of our 

 ornithologists. That they do no end of 

 collecting themselves we have abundant 

 evidence. Still these very men advise 

 us to limit our collections to one or two 

 sets of eggs and three or four skins of 

 each species. They tell us to study 

 birds with a field glass and if we want 

 to see a bird in the hand, to go to some 

 of the numerous large public collections. 

 That may do well enough for those in 

 Washington, Philadelphia, or New 

 York, but there are a few bird students 

 who do not live in or near any of these 

 large cities. 



If the American Museum and the 

 Philp,delphia Academy of Sciences 

 bring together large series of skihs, are 

 we not justified in following so good an 

 example? Those high in authority say: 

 No, but they do not give the real reason 

 which is just this. The museums have 

 fireproof buildings, curators to care 

 for specimens, and scientists who study 

 this material, making contributions to 

 the sum of scientific knowledge. With 

 these large collections, carefully pre- 

 served, they are able to discover new 

 facts in regard to moulting, distribution, 

 variation in plumage, etc. 



Now a beginner gets birds and eggs 

 much as a philatalist collects stamps, 

 to see how many kinds he can find. He 

 goes on in this way for from one to 

 three years, and then, the novelty of 

 mere collecting being lost, the whole 



