68 



THE OOLOGIST 



were between those of the Hawk Owl 

 and the Saw Whet. These eggs are 

 now in Mr. Barnes' collection and 

 were secured near Belvedere, Alber- 

 ta. 



Although I did not secure the nest 

 of the Hawk Owl that I expected, I 

 was even more pleased to add this 

 record to my collection experiences, 

 especially as the very next day I was 

 fortunate enough to find two nests of 

 the Hawk Owl in two other little mus- 

 kegs in the hills and later on, still 

 another. However I must reserve a 

 description of these nests and the ac- 

 companying pictures for a future 

 article if the editor permits. 



A. D. Henderson, 



Peace River, 

 Alta, Can. 



We are indebted to Mr. Henderson 

 for the foregoing and for the splendid 

 photographs which accompany the 

 papers. It is indeed unusual that we 

 get as thorough a delineation of the 

 nesting of so rare a bird. — Editor. 



Packing Small Eggs 



Doubtless many readers of The 

 Oologist are willing to take a tip from 

 the other fellow. Here is one that will 

 save much time and space when ship- 

 ping prepared sets, of small eggs, 

 great distances. When I say small 

 eggs, I refer to ones, which in size do 

 not exceed those of the robin. 



Use shell vials of glass and buy 

 them in several sizes with corks to 

 fit. Shell vials are perfectly straight 

 in form. They possess no pinched-in 

 neck, in other words they are of one 

 diameter from top to bottom. I use 

 sizes approximately iy 2 and 10 centi- 

 meters long with diameters ranging 

 from iy 2 to Zy 2 centimeters. 



Poke a wad of cotton into the bot- 

 tom of the vial, drop in an egg, then 



another wad of cotton, another egg, 

 etc. At the top there should, of 

 course, be a wad of cotton between the 

 last egg and the cork. Place the 

 thread of the field label in the vial and 

 put in the cork. Two or more vials 

 may be used for one set if necessary. 

 It is entirely unnecessary to wrap 

 each entirely in cotton. Nothing 

 whatever is needed between the egg 

 and the sides of the glass tube no 

 matter how delicate the eggs may be. 

 The wad of cotton below, and the one 

 above, separating it from the next 

 egg are the only requirements, provid- 

 ing the eggs are packed firmly enougn 

 to prevent their moving. 



I have brought dozens of humming 

 bird sets, rare jungle species and many 

 others safely home in this manner. 1 

 have shipped them from South Amer- 

 ica, Europe and many other states 

 and countries and have never had an 

 egg broken unless the shipping box 

 itself became crushed. 



The tubes containing the sets may 

 be packed readily in cotton, leaves, 

 grass and many materials that it would 

 be unsafe to pack loose eggs in. I have 

 found this method a great help in the 

 field and a very remarkable time 

 saver both when packing and unpack- 

 ing. 



Paul G. Howes. 



The "Blue Bird" 

 The Blue Bird has issued all num- 

 bers down to date. For some reason 

 it suspended publication last fall but 

 the monthly numbers have all been 

 sent out in one bunch. It also an- 

 nounces that hereafter the price of the 

 Blue Bird will be raised. We wish the 

 little magazine the best of success and 

 unlimited prosperity. It is worth 

 more than the price they have been 

 asking for it and will be worth all of 

 the price in the future that they may 

 ask for it. — Editor, 



