Introductory 



seems to chew his food, and eats very frequently ; if given any- 

 thing, either eatable or otherwise, he holds it, hawk-fashion, with 

 his feet (or foot) and quickly picks it to pieces, usually prying it 

 apart with his sharply pointed beak. The rose-breasted grosbeaks 

 eat nearly all the time, even late at night, and 1 fancy this accounts 

 for their tendency to become very fat when in captivity. So it 

 may be seen that each bird is a study by itself. 



Undoubtedly this same individuality exists in birds when in 

 their wild state, perhaps even to a greater degree, but it is more 

 difiFicult to discover. Some nests show individual peculiarities, 

 but whether the same bird builds the same kind of nest each year 

 is, of course, unknown. 



The object of this book, 1 may repeat, is to stimulate the love 

 of birds ; and though descriptions of nests and eggs are given, as 

 well as instructions for egg-collecting, it must be borne in mind 

 that it is generally neither necessary nor advisable that collections 

 of eggs should be made. Remember that, as Mr. Frank Chapman 

 says, the two points of interest in a bird's egg are " what the egg 

 is in and what is in the egg." Much more knowledge may be 

 gained by observing the birds themselves throughout the breeding 

 season than by taking the eggs. Leave egg-collecting to those 

 who are able, through scientific study, to make use of such col- 

 lections and devote your leisure hours to the far more interesting 

 process of collecting knowledge which will lend increased interest 

 to your every-day existence and give you new insight into the 

 fascinating world of bird-life. 



lO 



