generally appended to the biography of each species, but farther than this nothing had been done. 
Until very recently, even these descriptions, with but few exceptions, made little advance from the 
original text of the ornithological pioneers. 
The study of the plumage and ordinary habits of birds is easy' compared to the study of birds in 
connection with their nests and eggs. All endeavor to hide their nests, or, if not to conceal them, to 
put them in inaccessible places. This makes the finding of nests of even common birds sometimes very 
difficult, or, if not difficult to discover, at times unattainable ; while with birds that are rare, the finding 
of their nests is almost impossible. There are many cabinets in the state with complete sets of resident 
birds, but there is no cabinet containing specimens of the nests and eggs of each of these species. In 
fact, there is no cabinet that approaches completeness. This is accounted for partly by reason of the 
natural difficulties accompanying their collection, and partly because of the large amount of space which 
the nests would occupy, and the frailness and destructibility of both nests and eggs. The obstacles in 
the way of issuing a work devoted to nests and eggs, aside from the want of business and artistic 
qualifications, are not easily overcome, and account largely for the apparent neglect of this important 
part of ornithological literature. 
In the present work, the plates have, in neai'ly every instance, been drawn from fresh nests collected 
for the purpose by Dr. Howard Jones, and, together with the eggs, they have in all cases been satis- 
factorily identified. The exceptions are mentioned under “ Remarks.” Both nests and eggs are full size, 
and depicted so as to best illustrate with exactness every detail of structure. To accomplish this, we 
have often detracted from the beauty and picturesqueness of both: in the nests, by presenting them 
stripped of much of their accompanying foliage, which obstructs the view, but in nature adds so much 
to their variety and beauty ; in the eggs, by drawing them in full and out of the nest, a position Avhere 
their attractions show to poor advantage, but the only one in which a true conception of their size can 
be had. Deep shadows and high lights have alike been avoided, especially in picturing the eggs. We 
have endeavored to produce plates which will show every thing precisely as it is, and give, at close 
range, a correct idea of the original, rather than a set of highly-colored drawings suited only for framing. 
As far as possible, the nests and eggs figured have been gathered in the immediate neighborhood of 
Circleville. This gives to them an especial value, for, being constructed under the same conditions, as 
nearly as possible, the variations of architecture existing between the different species is more correctly 
expressed than if they had been built in much differing geographical parts of the State. Some of the 
nests illustrated were taken from places at a distance from where the majority were obtained, but this 
was necessitated by the rarity or absence of the birds in the designated locality. There are, undoubtedly, 
some birds breeding in Ohio, the nests and eggs of which it has not been possible to find; on the 
other hand, some nests and eggs have been obtained which may never be secured again. Several birds 
have for the first time been added to the list of summer-residents, which may in future years become 
plentiful, while some designated in the text as common may in time become rare and finally disappear 
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