D6 



THE OOLOGIST. 



A Bald Eagle's Nest. 



On Jaanary 5 I took my first egg fur the 

 season of '89. A friend of mine wliile jnt 

 Lmnting on New Yeai's clay, s:iw the nest. 

 of a Bald Eagle and asked me to 

 go witli Lim • to get the eggs. 

 I was glad of the chance, and on 

 the 5th, after dinner, we started with a lot 

 of cleats, as the tree was a very tnll pine 

 and no other trees near it. 



We had hard work nailing on the cleats, 

 as it was more than f feet to the first 

 limbs. We knew there was something in 

 the nest, because when we reached the 

 tree the old bird flew off of the nest and 

 her mate joined her and they sat on a 

 dead tree not f-ir away to watch the 

 proceedings. 



We reached the nest at last, which was 

 a huge affair, about 5 feet broad and almost 

 as thick, composed of pine sticks about 

 as thick as a man's thumb, f(.)r the most 

 part, the top was flat, excejit iu the center, 

 where it was depressed a few inches deep 

 and large enough to hold the eggs, and 

 lined with grass and other soft material. 



There was one egg in the nest of a dull, 

 whitish or kind of greenish color. The old 

 birds flew pretty close to us, screaming, 

 bat did not attack ns. 



We got home about dark, detern)ined to 

 try it again soon, and see if she would lay 

 the rest of her clutch. The egg when 

 blown was fresh, and must have been laid 

 that day. 



On the 14th we went out again and up 

 to the nest and got two eggs which had 

 just commeneed ti^ show signs of inciTba- 

 tion when blown. 



This time tin old birds were not so shy, 

 and flew quite close to our h^ads, uttering 

 harsh notes, but we answered them back 

 and waved our hats at them. We were 

 well pleased with our first set for '89. We 

 afterwards learned that the eagles had 

 occupied tlife nest for several years. 



The first egg measures 7 inches in cir- 

 cumference by 8}^ the other way; the 

 next is 7 X 8, and the third 6| x 1^ inches 

 iu circumference. 



B. G. Dayton, Fla. 



Making Bird's Skins. 



Have just read ^h\ Ernest E. Thomp- 

 son's excellent article on making bird and 

 mammal skins, in the March Oologist. 



As there are various methods employed in 

 this art, it will not come amiss to give one 

 that is used quite universall}' among recent 

 collectors. I have given most every 

 method a fnir trial, and experience the 

 best results from the following : 



After the bird has been skinned and 

 l)oisone(l, and cotton placed in the eye 

 sockets, turn the s^kin right side out, pull 

 the skin of the head back and make it fit 

 snugly, and arrange all the feathers nicely. 

 Now take a round I'lufl'y piece of cotton, 

 pidl one end of it out into a neck and 

 introduce with the forceps to the inside 

 of the skin and run it up firmly into the 

 throat, withdraw the forceps, leaving the 

 cotton in positi< n. Now tuck the cotton 

 that hangs outside, into the skin, bjiug 

 careful not to iiush it too far forward, as 

 that will raise the feathers on the breast 

 and drive the shoulders apart. It is not 

 necessary to have any cotton iu the skull 

 cavity. By having the throat and neck 

 in one piece, it does away with placing a 

 separate piece iu the throat and after- 

 wards tying the bill together; it also gives 

 a beautiful curve from bill to breast. 



Contrary to what one might suppose, 

 more cotton is placed in the hind part 

 than in fore part. 



Beginners will find it to their advantage 

 to tie the wing bones close together and 

 also to take a stitch in the opening; but 

 with practice you will soon be able to do 

 away with both. 



In drying the skins I use a paper cylinder 

 made the same caliber as the natural 

 bird. It is a good plan to put the bird 

 half way iu and arrange the wing quills 

 nicely, then let it slide the remainder of 

 the way in. 



As a preservative, I use a preparation of 

 equal parts of arsenic and powdered alum. 

 The latter ingredient acts as a tanner and 

 sets the feathers more tightly. 



Always measure your speeimens. 

 Geo. G. Cantwell, 



Minneapolis, Minn. 



