Birds' Nests 



cated, except when done from genuinely scien- 

 tific motives. 



On the other hand, after the nest has been 

 vacated, it has served its full purpose, and, if 

 removed at once, its often perfect condition ren- 

 ders it permanently illustrative of the peculiari- 

 ties and skill of that particular species. Such 

 a collection of nests will doubtless foster a livelier 

 interest in this branch of natural history, and 

 impress the acquired facts more permanently 

 upon the mind, than any other phase of the 

 subject. An attractive writer, Mr. Ernest In- 

 gersoU, has referred in so interesting a manner 

 to the relative claims upon our attention of nest 

 and eggs, that his words are well worth quoting: 

 ' ' Whether or not it is worth while to collect 

 nests — for there are many persons who never do 

 so — is, it seems to me, only a question of room 

 in the cabinet. As a scientific study, there is 

 far more advantage to be obtained from a series 

 of nests than from a series of eggs. The nest is 

 something with which the will and energies of 

 the bird are concerned. It expresses the char- 

 acter of the workman, and gives us a glimpse of 

 the bird's mind and power to understand and 

 adapt itself to changed conditions of life. Over 

 the shape and ornamentation of an egg the bird 



141 



