638 MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



with shot of different sizes ; but although it has 

 been frequently recommended to kill small birds 

 with dust shot, we would suggest the employment 

 of a larger size, inasmuch as specimens shot with the 

 former are often found, on inspection, to be exten- 

 sively mutilated, the shafts of the large feathers 

 being frequently split and broken, and other inju- 

 ries done to the toes and tarsi, from the quantity of 

 shot which strike the object, while with the latter a 

 bird will often be killed by a single lead drop, and 

 the laceration of the skin is of far less consequence 

 than injury to the feathers. The early morning is the 

 best time to procure specimens, and next to that the 

 evening; for at these periods the birds are in a 

 greater state of activity, being busied in seeking 

 their repast ; it is then, also, that their songs are 

 chiefly heard. During the heat of the day, again, 

 in Summer and in hot climates, they usually repair 

 to quiet retreats, and are little seen. Crepuscular 

 and nocturnal birds must, of course, be sought for 

 after sun-set, when their time of activity commences. 

 In all cases specimens which have been snared are 

 preferable to those which have been shot, and the 

 assistance of natives will generally be found very 

 serviceable in this particular, from their knowledge 

 of the haunts of different species, and the peculiari- 

 ties of their habits. 



The collector should have a light box in which to 

 deposit specimens procured ; and if a number of 

 paper cones, of different sizes, be made of cartridge- 

 paper, before starting, and kept in the game box, it 



