34 BIRDS' NESTS 



are serious objections to the forming of a private 

 collection of birds' nests especially, but to those 

 students who may be ambitious to do so, the following 

 hints may probably prove of some service. The 

 utility of forming a representative collection of nests 

 cannot be over-estimated. In accumulating such a 

 collection the student will not fail largely to increase 

 his knowledge of the ways and methods of the little 

 architects themselves ; nor will he fail to realise much 

 that has been said already in the present chapter, or 

 to gather fresh evidence in support of the views here 

 propounded. In the first place I would advise the 

 collector to confine his efforts to the nests of the 

 smaller birds. Large nests are unmanageable. What- 

 ever may strike the observer as peculiar about them, 

 therefore, must be committed to the note-book, as 

 also full and detailed descriptions of all the larger 

 and rarer structures that he may meet with. I 

 would strongly recommend a collector of nests 

 with but limited space at his disposal to confine 

 his efforts to the various types, never duplicating 

 these in the various closely allied species except for 

 some special reason. All the smaller nests should 

 be removed with the supporting branches or twigs as 

 far as possible; nests in other situations must be 

 removed with great care and transferred to boxes 

 without delay. Nests in holes are the most difficult 

 to secure in a perfect condition, being often so very 

 loosely fabricated that removal entire is impossible. 



