Natural Science News. 



VOL. I ALBION, N. Y., JANUARY 18, 1896. No. 51 



Natural Science News. 



A Weekly Journal Devoted to 

 Natural History. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items ot interest to the 

 student of any of the various branches of the 

 Natural Sciences solicited from all. 



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The Art of Collecting Birds. 



Personal experience is a good, 

 and in fact the only adequate, 

 teacher we can have in learning 

 any art. The need of such a teach- 

 er is felt by none more than by the 

 naturalist who wishes to bring to- 

 gether a complete collection of the 

 birds of even his own immediate 

 district. Hence I trust 1 shall not 

 be accused of egotism, if,in this sec- 

 tion, I endeavor to impart to the 

 reader some things that experience 

 has taught me. 



It is of first importance for the 

 collector to gain as complete a 

 knowledge as possible of the notes 

 and habits of birds, and of the lo- 

 calities frequented by those he 

 wishes to procure. This knowl- 

 edge may be gained by carefully 

 studying the writings of men who 

 have paid particular attention to 

 the subject. Too much depend- 

 ence must not be placed on books, 

 as the best of these contain error 

 as well as truth; besides, birds are 

 very variable in their habits in dif- 

 ferent localities. The collector 

 must then depend mainly upon him- 

 self. He must visit every locality, 

 — the mountain-top and the dark- 

 swampy thicket, as well as the 

 meadow, the plain, or the open for- 

 est, as in each of these localities 

 he will find species that he may 

 not meet elsewhere. A little pa- 

 tience will help any one through 

 the worst of places. 



The quaking bog, where a mis- 

 step may plunge the adventurer in- 

 to the slimy ooze, is also an excel- 

 lent locality for certain species. 

 But when the collector returns 



home wet and hungry, fatigued 

 and disheartened, — as he now and 

 then will, — let him not be discour- 

 aged. Try again! the next day, 

 and even the next, if need be, until 

 the desired specimen is obtained. 

 After all, the earnest naturalist will 

 be amply rewarded for the exercise 

 of patience and perseverance by 

 securing a rare specimen. 



The true naturalist never thinks 

 of cold and disappointment, of 

 days of fatigue and hours of pa- 

 tient watching, when at last he 

 holds in his hand the long-search- 

 ed-for bird. Ample reward is this 

 for all his former trials; he is now 

 ready to go into bog and through 

 brier. And thus the enthusiastic 

 naturalist travels on, not discour- 

 aged by toil and trouble, laughed 

 to scorn by the so-called '•practi- 

 cal'' men, who are unable to ap- 

 preciate his high motive. This, 

 however, he forgets when in field 

 or study he meets with the cordial 

 greeting of his brother naturalist, 

 as they with mutual interest relate 

 their discoveries and adventures. 



To the traveling collector a few 

 special hints are necessary. While 

 visiting a remote region, but little 

 known, one should not neglect to 

 shoot numbers of every bird met 

 with, even if they are common spe- 

 cies at home, as they will not only 

 furnish data on the distribution of 

 the species, but they may present 

 interesting characters peculiar to 

 that locality. If a certain species 

 appears common, do not delay col- 

 lecting specimens, for peculiar cir- 

 cumstances may have brought them 

 together in unusual numbers; at 

 some future time they may be rare. 



A well-trained dog is of great 

 value while collecting birds, espec- 

 ially the Quails, Marsh Wrens, Sea- 

 side and Sharp-tailed Finches, — in 

 fact, all birds that are difficult to 

 start in open meadows and grassy 

 places. While searching thickets, 

 great watchfulness should be ob- 

 served, especially in the autumn, 

 when many birds have no conspic- 

 uous note, otherwise many of the 

 more wary of the Warblers will es- 

 cape notice. The slightest chirp 

 should be carefully followed; the 

 slightest motion of the branches 

 closely watched. If a bird is seen 

 that is not fully recognized, it 

 should be shot at once, for in no 

 other way can it be determined 

 whether it is a rara avis. 



By carefully watching the mo- 

 tions of birds, the collector will 



soon become so expert as to be 

 able generally to distinguish the 

 different species of Warblers, even 

 at a distance. Carefully scrutinize 

 also the tops of tall forest trees, as 

 I have there taken, in autumn, 

 some of the rarest Warblers. 



In spring male birds are quite 

 readily found, as they are chen in 

 full song; but the same caution 

 must be used in collecting females 

 that is practiced in autumn, as they 

 are generally shy and difficult to 

 find. Hence it is a good rule al- 

 ways to secure the female first, when 

 she is seen with the male; for in 

 spite of all the collector's efforts, 

 he will find that there will be four 

 males to one female in his collec- 

 tion. 



During winter some birds may 

 be found in the thick woods that 

 one would hardly expect to find at 

 this season, such as the Robin, 

 Golden-winged Woodpecker, etc. 

 The open fields should not be neg- 

 lected even during snow-storms, as 

 it is then that such ordinary cau- 

 tious birds as the Snowy Owl may 

 be approached quite readily; or 

 the capture of a Jerfalcon may re- 

 ward the collector for a disagree- 

 able tramp. The salt marshes and 

 sandy seashores are the resort of 

 a great many winter birds, and the 

 collector will perhaps find himself 

 amply repaid for a few visits to 

 these localities at this season. 



Do not uieglect to collect the 

 young of birds; by procuring spec- 

 imens of these from the time they 

 become fully fl- dgeJ until they at- 

 tain the perfectly mature plumage, 

 one becomes familiar with all the 

 stages through which a given spe- 

 cies passes, and will thus avoid 

 many errors i ...nch some of 

 our eminent ornithologists have 

 fallen, — that of mistaking the 

 young of certain well-known birds 

 for a different species from the 

 adult, from not being acquainted 

 with the immature stages. All 

 birds should be taken that exhibit 

 any unusual characters, such as un- 

 usually large or small bills or feet; 

 or change of plumage, such as very 

 pale, or very bright, cases of albin- 

 ism, etc. 



The gun used by a collector 

 should have a small bore, not larg- 

 er than No. 14 for shooting small 

 birds; for Ducks, and other large 

 water-birds, one of larger calibre 

 will be found more effectual. The 

 best shot to use for small birds is 

 "dust shot" if it can be procured; 



