NESTS AND EGGS. 101 



erence that the tender office of maternity inspires ; but with 

 all proper respect for the humane emotion, it njay be said 

 simply, that birds'-nesting is not nearly so cruel as bird- 

 shooting. What I said in a former section, in endeavoring to 

 guide search for birds, applies in substance to hunting for their 

 nests ; the essential difference is, that the latter are of course 

 essential objects, and consequently more liable to be over- 

 looked, other things being equal, than birds themselves. I have 

 not myself proven a very successful finder of eggs, for no other 

 reason than that a motionless object does not arrest my atten- 

 tion, when the swaying of a leaf, or the faintest chirp, would be 

 instantly noted. Most birds nest on trees or bushes ; many 

 on the ground and on rocks ; others in hollows. Some build 

 elegant, elaborate structures, endlessly varied in details of 

 form and material ; others 'make no nest whatever. In this 

 country, egging is chiefly practicable in May and during the 

 summer ; but some species, particularly birds of prey, begin 

 to lay in January while, on our southern border at least, the 

 season of reproduction is protracted through September ; so 

 there is really a long period for search. Particular nests, of 

 course, like the birds that build them, can only be found 

 through ornithological knowledge ; but general search is usn- 

 allj' rewarded with a varied assortment. The best clew to a 

 hidden nest is the actions of the parents ; patient watchful- 

 ness is commonly, successful in tracing the birds home. As 

 the science of oology has not progressed to the point of deter- 

 mining from the nests and eggs, to what bird they belong, in 

 even a majority of cases, the utmost care in authentication is 

 indispensable. To be worth anything, not to be worse than 

 worthless in fact, an egg must be identified beyond question ; 

 must be not only unsuspected, but above suspicion.* It is 

 often extremely difficult to make an unquestionable determi- 

 nation, as for instance when numbers of birds of similar hab- 

 its are breeding close together ; or even impossible, as in case 



*A shade of suspicion is often attached to dealers' eggs— not necessarily im- 

 plying bad faith or even negligence on the dealers' part, but ftom the nature of the 

 case. ^ 



