TIKE 



OOLO^T| JOURNAL, 



VOL I. 



POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y„ FEB, 1891. 



NO. 2. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLLECT- 

 ING AND PREPARING 

 BIRDS' EGGS. 



BY J. W. P. SMITHWICK. 



Before you enter into this delight- 

 ful pastime — collecting eggs for the 

 purpose of study — you will need the 

 following instruments, viz : A good 

 blowpipe, and an assortment of drills, 

 which can be bought so cheap, that 

 one is not justified in trying to make 

 them. As the season advances you 

 will find eggs more or less incubated, 

 and will need an embryo hook and a 

 pair of embryo scissors, which can 

 be used to advantage in removing 

 the embryo. Having gotten all the 

 instruments necessary, in order, you 

 are now ready to make your first trip 

 into the woods to try your luck as 

 an Oologist. 



The morning hours are the best 

 time to look for nests, for the simple 

 reason, that nearly all birds are 

 busy — flitting to and fro, with 

 material for their nest. If you see 

 a bird with something in its bill fly 

 into a certain clump of bushes or 

 a thicket ; do not rush in there as if 

 you were mad, but watch her two or 



three times, until you can nearly lo- 

 cate where she stops. When she is 

 away you may creep up nearer, but 

 not enough to disturb her, because 

 if once disturbed she will, after that, 

 keep a more vigilant watch for in- 

 truders. When you succeed in see- 

 ing the nest, that is enough, do not 

 go to examine it, but go away cau- 

 tiously, not however, before you 

 have noticed the surroundings 

 enough to be sure you can find the 

 nest easily again. 



A great many birds nest on the 

 ground, and therefore you must not 

 be surprised if you find one there. 

 When you are going through the 

 woods, and a bird flies up before 

 you, carefully search the place from 

 which it flew, for many of our 

 rarest Warblers, and numerous other 

 species, build their nest right on the 

 ground, and if you are not careful 

 these will escape your notice, espec- 

 ially if you are young in the busi- 

 ness. And again, many birds nest 

 in hollows, cavities, and excavations. 

 made ( by themselves. Now there- 

 fore, from the foregoing, you see 

 that there are thj ^ > o_plaofts in which 

 you may exnifct to find nests (the lo- 

 cation YBXTmS with the species, of 



A 



WEARN8 



ttLLECTW* 



