and the creek does not get too high. There is more truth than poetry in this, for I had one per- 

 fectly beautiful nest and set carried away a few days ago by freshet. The nest I now have spotted 

 was not to exceed four inches above the rushing torrent of a canyon stream a few days ago when I 

 found the birds working like beavers building. There is a lull in the storm now with receding 

 waters, so I will likely pick the fruit about tomorrow or next day." 



We find ourselves obliged, very much against our inclination, to preserve a sphinx-like silence 

 regarding a good deal of the choice material which has come in to us by way of member fees and 

 donations. We are going to spill over, though, about some recent accessions from India, Burma, 

 and Ceylon, which we judge to be "safe" territory. It is not for the editor to say which exceeds 

 in value, but the gifts of Messrs. Baker, Field, Wait, Hopwood, and Marlow are close rivals for 

 interest. From Mr. Stuart Baker came two handsome series, fifteen sets of the Brown Bush- 

 Warbler, Tribura leteiventris, and 26 sets of Austen's brown Hill-Warbler, Suya khasiana khasiana. 

 The last-named shows a high variation, from the familiar robin type, pale pinkish buff, heavily 

 ringed with mikado brown, to the rare "blue" type (an egg, of course, is never blue, but only 

 Niagara green, however pale). 



From Mr. F. Field came nineteen sets and ten nests, most carefully preserved. This offering 

 is a gem, whether viewed nest-wise or egg-wise,— or rather, it is a casket of gems. Indeed, for 

 once we have delayed putting the eggs with their respective nests, because, for example, the 

 sensational contrasts between the two sets of Prinia inornata, one a pale buff and the other a 

 strong green as to background, would be discounted if hidden away in their dainty baskets. The 

 eggs of the Asiatic Sunbird (Arachnecthra asiatica) would be lost in their casket of cobwebs, for 

 they are of the same color (however, we mean to put them there in time.) Besides that, the 

 rich olive of Hydrophasianus chirurgus would be left alone, for these eggs have no rush nesting 

 place. 



From Mr. Hopwood came eggs of Gould's Broadbill, Scrilopus lunatus, Abbott's Babbler- 

 Turdinus abbotti, Sarcogrammus atrinuchalis, and others "tco numerous to mention." Mr- 

 Hopwood, too, knows how to collect nests as they ought to be collected, and his offering of a 

 Scarlet-backed Flower-pecker's cradle shows how man and bird may conspire to achieve dis- 

 tinction. 



Mr. T. Marlow is represented by a series, 25 sets and 5 singles, of the Burmese Prinia {Prinia 

 blanfordi) which is a revelation of beauty to us unprivileged Americans. As the good bishop 

 (what was his name-) said of the strawberry, "Doubtless God could have made a better berry — 

 but doubtless he never did." Doubtless the Almighty coidd arrange for the production of more 

 bewitching ovals, but it is very doubtful if he ever did. 



Mr. W. E. Wait, of Ceylon, himself one of the newest and most valued accessions to the 

 M. M. C. O., sends sixty-four sets from his hitherto unrepresented isle. Mr. Wait modestly 

 admits that Aegialitis alexandrina of the resident tropical race is a species not often taken, and 

 we do not doubt his word; but our untutored interest darts from the single egg of the India Koel 

 Eudynamis honorata, a fascinating complex of color, chiefly red, to the plain ovals of Gallus lafayetti, 

 the Ceylon Jungle Fowl. The dingy white eggs of the Green-billed Malkoha (Rhopodytes viri- 

 dirostris), a large Cuckoo, remind us of our own Roadrunner, Geococcyx calif ornicus. We will 

 own, though, that we are most entranced with the romance— and mystery — of another Cuckoo's 

 egg, that of the Pied-crested Cuckoo, Coccystes jacobin us. This egg as the result of ages of 

 evolution (whether "conscious" or unconscious, who knows?) has achieved an exact similitude 

 to those of its invariable host, a Babbler {Crater opus striatits). No one can detect any difference 

 between the rich clear green of the host egg and the robber egg; nor is there any distinction in 

 size; but the initiated know that the cuckoo's product has a thicker shell. 



We are deeply indebted to these gentlemen and to a score beside whose names, no less worthy, 

 have not been given on this list. We hope to furnish before the year is out an exact statement of 

 contributions, for circulation among members only. 



MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS 



Our very unusual proposal to accept nest-and-egg material in lieu of cash in settlement of 

 member fees has met a very sympathetic response, and fully justified our fond prediction that the 

 egg collectors of the world would be glad to contribute to a common fund. Some thirty-five 

 members have availed themselves of this privilege, and the only reason why this number has not 

 been greatly increased is because notices of dues have been held up pending the appearance of 

 this Journal. Some members have felt a hesitancy in sending eggs as a substitute for cash, 

 as though it were in some way derogatory to their dignity. To such we hasten to say that in 

 the majority of instances we would really prefer material contributions. While a certain amount 

 of cash is necessary to run any publication, and the M. C. O. Journal is no exception, we find that 

 an enduring representation in the M. C. O. cabinets affords the greatest satisfaction, alike to 

 the donor and to his fellow beneficiaries. 



Visiting members find the keenest enjoyment in inspecting the gifts of their brethren, whether 

 from Santa Barbara or New Zealand; and the esprit du corps which this method is developing is 

 one of the most gratifying features of our institutional work. We regret that it does not appear 



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