NESTS AND EGGS. 101 
erence that the tender office of maternity inspires : but with 
all proper respect for the humane emotion, it may be said 
simply, that birds’-nesting is not nearly so cruel as bird- 
shooting. What I said in a former section, in endeavoring to 
euide 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 avery 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 usu- 
ally rewarded with a varied assortment. The best clew toa 
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 from the nature of the 
case. 
