162 



THe odLOdiisT 



THE MAYNARD SERIES 



P. B. Peabody, Blue Rapids, Kansas 



My overtures in the pages of The 

 Oologist in regard to representative 

 collections of single eggs, would seem 

 to have induaed no small interest, not 

 only among the "rank and file." but 

 among really advanced Ornithologists. 

 My subsequent correspondence has 

 brought to light the fact that there are 

 probably thousands of single eggs 

 packed away, doing nobody any good. 

 This, to some of us, must seem a cry- 

 ing shame. If only one might develop, 

 and utilize, some half-divine power of 

 stirring people up and making them do 

 things, what a wonderful influence one 

 might exert in this wayward world! 



And now, having given no small 

 thought and attention to this whole 

 matter, it seems to me more and more 

 feasible and valuable. Students cf 

 bird-life who may perhaps hesitate to 

 rob the entire contents of the nest, 

 even in case cf common birds, might 

 find a real delight in stealing an egg or 

 two of especially interesting coloration 

 or markings, and thus, by exchange, 

 building up gradually a wondrefully 

 representative group of eggs of the 

 species available to him. And if he 

 got the whole length of taking all the 

 eggs in the nests of certain rare birds 

 he might in collaboration with others 

 like-minded with himself, gradually 

 broaden the scope of his colorations. 



In order to heighten, if possible, the 

 interest of some of the younger read- 

 ers of this magazine, I wish, here, to 

 describe a type of egg that appears to 

 be quite rare, yet whch is quite com- 

 mon enough and pronounced enough, 

 to be fittingly called a' type. Eggs of 

 this character are capped heavily with 

 some warm tint, either of dull-brown 

 or dull-green. This color gives the 

 impression as of having been laid on 

 with an air-brush and the tints are so 

 exquisitely graduated, yielding, on 



about the middle of the eggs, to the 

 immaculate ground-color, as to surpass 

 the utmost skill of any artist that ever 

 lived. Of such eggs are the exarhple 

 of Crested Flycatcher and Red-wing 

 eggs, already described in the Oolo- 

 gist; an egg of the Brown Thra'sher, 

 and several others. Most notable and 

 most exquisitely beautiful of the en- 

 tire series is the egg of a Prairie Fal- 

 con, recently acquired. 



This specimen is wholly immaculate, 

 rather creamy-white, on the lower 

 third. The entire apex, for nearly half 

 the longitudinal diameter, is very heav- 

 ily covered with protuberances. (These 

 end where the color ends). This utter- 

 ly solid color, as in all other eggs of 

 this type, is most finely graduated un- 

 til it gives place to the immaculate 

 area, near the lower third of the egg. 

 Now, of course, larg>» collections have 

 ample material for covering all ordin- 

 ary types of eggs in a given species. 

 But, for the most of us, men of limited 

 means and time, I can imagine no pos- 

 sible way in which a working cabinet 

 of eggs can be so readily acquired as 

 thrcugh the manipulations of a May- 

 nard Series. 



While not yet ready to publish my 

 complete list of the larger series 

 (especially), I might strike a' respon- 

 sive cord in the sensibilities of not a 

 few of Oologist readers by stating 

 that I have carefully deveiopea twf> 

 modified series — a "Student" and a 

 "Teacher' series. In these and es- 

 pecially in the more simple, elemen- 

 tary series, I have tried to avoid, so 

 far as possible, all rare eggs. Should 

 the interest I have been trying to stim- 

 ulate become a really substantial 

 thing, I should be glad, by courtesy of 

 the editor of The Oologist, to publish 

 the A. 0_ U. numbers of these two 

 series in some later issue of our good 

 magazine. (The Teacher Series covers 

 ninety-two species, wnlch is quite 



