THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



supposing that he cannot bring it 

 away with him owing to its size or un- 

 portability — and the nature of the 

 spot where it was found. This should 

 all be carefully noted on a register 

 kept for the purpose, (a description 

 of which will be given hereafter,) 

 opposite to the number which is 

 marked on the eggs. 



If the collector is fortunate enough 

 to shoot, snare or trap the parent 

 bird or birds, they should be care- 

 fully skinned and labeled with a ref- 

 erence to the eggs of which they are 

 the parents— thus: " Parent of eggs 

 marked No. — ." 



In case the collector does not un- 

 derstand how to skin birds, then he 

 can preserve a wing (taken off at the 

 shoulder Joint) and the head, which 

 latter should be cut off just behind 

 the skull, and must have the eyes 

 and the brain scooped out to pre- 

 serve it. These will very often iden- 

 tify eggs very well. 



Many errors have arisen from see- 

 ing birds near eggs, and then sup- 

 posing them to be their parents. 

 There are many birds— such as the 

 Crow and the Blue Jay— which suck 

 eggs, and are consequently often 

 found nearer to other birds' nests 

 than they have any right to be. 

 Again, there are others— such as the 

 Titmice, Creepers, Nuthatches and 

 others— who, although not plunder- 

 ers, obtain their food by seeking for 

 it even in the very places where 

 other species breed. Among the 

 water birds also, which often breed 

 very close to each other, mistakes 

 have arisen from supposing a nest 

 of eggs found in a marsh to belong 

 to a bird which fluttered on the 

 ground and showed other signs of 

 distress, when the real cause of its 

 distress was that it had a nest of its 

 own within a few feet of the one 

 that was found. 



The experience of a single season 

 of egg-coilecting is, however, to most 

 persons, worth more than pages 

 Avritten on this subject. 



We desire to impress it upon egg- 

 collectors that without eggs are well' 

 identified, they are of no value f8r- 

 scientific purposes whatever. Let 

 him not consider it a waste of time, 

 therefore, if he spends an hour, nay,, 

 even two, in watching for the parent 

 of a nest of eggs of which he does 

 not know the name. One nest of 

 eggs well identified is worth more 

 than a barrel full not identified. 



If the parent of a nest of eggs does 

 not make its appearance one day 

 while you are waiting for it, then 

 leave the eggs until the next day or- 

 the day aftei% and then try again. 

 Be careful not to handle the eggs if 

 you intend to leave them in the nest 

 until the next day, for some birds 

 are so shy that if the eggs are touched 

 they will perceive it and forsake the 

 eggs — and some will even break 

 them — and thus you lose the chance 

 of identifying them, and run the' 

 risk of losing them altogether. 



Even if you cannot identify them, 

 you should preserve them, for an- 

 oologist can often recognize thenij^ 

 and you might in this way secure - 

 some very rare eggs. 



Authentication. — The proper - 

 way to authenticate eggs is to num- 

 ber them, beginning with " 1 " for- 

 the first nest of eggs, "■ 2 " for the- 

 second, "3" for the third, &c. — 

 writing the number down on the- 

 register, with tlie name of the bird 

 to which they belong opposite tc" 

 them. In the column headed "Po- 

 sition of Nest, &c.," should be writ- 

 ten the site of the nest, and, if it be- 

 an uncommon one in your vicinityj. 

 the materials of which it is com- 

 posed. In every case where the eggs- 

 are rare the nest should accompany 

 them, if uot too large and bulky.. 

 Attach a label to the nest, with the 

 number marked on the eggs foundJ 

 in it. 



In the column headed " Position, 

 of Nest, &c.," should also be added. 

 a memorandum of the manner in 

 which the identification was effected;;. 



