Dec., 1882.] 
AND OOLOGIST 
183 
The Great American Egg-hog. 
This apjDellation, decidedly more de¬ 
served than elegant, is, I am sorry to say, 
a name ajjplicable to a great many so- 
called oologists. Many collectors, espec¬ 
ially the more youthful members of the 
brotherhood, seem to lose sight of what, 
at least, should be their ultimate object— 
the advancement of the science w’itli the 
least possible injury to the welfare and 
happiness of the birds. Of course a 
good, complete series of all the rarer eggs 
of your region, and, in the rarest species, 
perhaps as many as possible would always 
be desirable; but to accumulate great 
numbers of the commoner eggs, even if 
well kept in sets, is entirely useless and 
^out of place. A tyj^ical clutch or two, with 
whatever marked variations may come un¬ 
der your notice, should be sufficient. In 
the case of the Song Sparrow {Melospiza 
fasciata, which I mention on account of its 
abundance and the great variety of its 
egg-markings,) a few commonly marked 
sets, and some showing the extremes, 
would for all ordinary purposes be ade¬ 
quate, except in case an individual should 
be working u}) the oology of the Frhi- 
gilliclce, or something of a similar plan. 
On entering a new region—ornitholog- 
ically new, I mean—it would undoubtedly 
be advisable to collect (I was going to say 
as many sets as possible) at least enough 
to be able to stock your own cabinet, and 
to present yoiir oological friends w'ith a 
few good examples of all the species you 
may fall in with, not to mention a donation 
to some public museum. Again, speci¬ 
mens of the same species from varioiis lo¬ 
calities are often very desirable, especially 
if there be any great difference in latitude 
or altitude between the places. But in 
the case of some of our Waders, the 
Jlerodiones for example, where vast num¬ 
bers breed in a comparatively restricted 
area, it is very different. The eggs as a 
rule, present no notable variation in either 
size, color, or shajie, and rarely in num¬ 
ber. To enter one of these “ Heronries” 
and to deliberately gather as many eggs 
as can conveniently be carried away in a 
basket, is conduct w'hich could hardly be 
surpassed by the vagabond and ruffian, 
and which certainly “ is not becoming of a 
gentleman and a naturalist.” Of course I 
understand that the plea for such behav¬ 
ior is always “ exchange,” but nine men 
out of ten prefer to collect their own 
specimens when possible, and in our com¬ 
moner Eastern species, I am sorry to say 
the “ exchange” is only too often for 
“filthy lucre.”— -Louis A. Zerega, 3 Fast 
12d Street, Nevi York Citg. 
Curious Nesting Places. 
A few 5 'ears ago a i)air of Pew'ees built 
their nest on a brace under tlie guards of 
the steam feriy boat running betw'een Port¬ 
land and Middletown, Conn., the boat mak¬ 
ing trijDS every ten minutes. They seemed 
to claim Middletowm as their home, as they 
appeared to collect their building material 
on that side of the river. When the boat 
was on this side they would wait patiently, 
sitting on the piles until she came into the 
slip, although I have occasionally seen them 
fly out and meet the boat in the middle of 
the river. “ John,” the veteran collector, 
(he has been on this ferry thirty years,) 
took quite an interest in them and did 
what I doubt he never did before—let any¬ 
thing cross on this boat without collecting 
the fare. The birds did well and we watched 
them until the young left the nest. 
I have a bad habit of w'aking up about 
four o’clock mornings, and in Summer to 
keep out of mischief I “ pot” around the 
garden until breakfast time. One morn¬ 
ing last Spring I noticed a Bluebird flying 
tow’ards the house wfith her bill full of dried 
grass. I watched her, and you w'ould never 
guess wdiere she w'ent with it—right into 
the kitchen chimney. The chimney has a 
flat stone on tojo, with oimnings beneath. 
I sat dowm and watched the pair work most 
