Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-10-14
RARE BIRD EGGS.
The Curious Assortment Which Savan
nah Man Has Collected.

| The Curious Assortment Which a Savan-
nah Man Has Collected.
"How's your collection of eggs COM
ing on?" asked a reporter of MIR. Troup
Perry?
Nicely" was the reply. I've just
got in some new ones, and if you've a
few minutes to spare you'll find them
worth looking att
The NeDs man went with Mr.. Perry
to his residence, and there saw more
kinds and varieties of eggs than he had
dreamed were in existence. There were
eggs of all sizes, shapes and colors.
from the size of the tiny titmouse. as
large as a pea, to that of the ostrich,
large enough to make square meal for
two hungry men. The eggs are all
classified and labeled, each set of from
one to a dozen or more in separate
apartment.
..Show me some of the rarest ones"
asked the reporter.
"Well, here's about the smallest egg
in the world. 1t is laid by the California
titmouse. They are quite common
though, and are remarkable only for
their size. Here's something not found
every day, the rock wren's egg. 1t is
found in California, too. The little
fellows build their nests all along the
Pacific coast in the crevices of the rocks.
Ihen here's the thrush's egg. They
are quite common. i have eighteen
varieties of them. This is one called
the Savainosus warbler, which | was the
first to discover. found these eggs on
May ID year ago. They are found
only in Georgia and South Carolina.
This is something prize very highly
the Florida Towhee. There are but
two sets in the United States. and this
is one of them. Here's the black snow
BIRDS egg from New Brunswick, the
fy-catcher from Arizona and one from
Arkansas. And here's something that
lots OF people get mixed up-the whip
poor-wll and Observation-Disclosures.
The egg of the latter is about twice the
size of the former. This is funny fell
low, the scarlet tanager. 1t never
builds its own nest, but lays in the first
uest it comes across"
Mr. Perry brought out the eggs of the
bobolink from Vermont. which visits
here in the winter rs the rice bird; the
startling from England. the cow bird
from Yucatan, five varieties of the black
bird; six of the lark, including one
from Mexico, and four varieties of the
oriole. One of the most curious of all
was that of the burrowing of Cali
fornia, which builds its nest in hole
from SIX to ten feet under ground. An
other collection was that OF the Ameri-
can eagle from Cabbage island. This
is white egg about the size of goose
egg, with an unusually rough surface
Then there is the wild turkey, rufled
grouse, plover, tlamingo, sand hill
crane. pelican, woodcock, eannet, snake
bird, horned owl, buzzard, crow, gull
and hundreds of others which it would
be almost impossible to mention.
1--WE been about five years getting
this collection on" said Mr.. Perry,
land haven't near as many as want
now"
"About how many different kinds
have you got alrcady9"
about four hundred"
''How do you get your specimens
ocean?'
"By exchanging. You see always
get as many sets as l can of kind that
l find around here, and / can always
exchange them for something that l
haven't got There's one, though, that
have to buy, the tufted putin, from
Pacific island 1t cost me So. So
'.What is my collection worth? Well,
according to the system under which |
have it classified (Ridway's), it is worth
every cent of 81, 800"
The collection represents almost every
country in the world, and it required
great deal of time and patience to put it
together. (Ga.) NeWs.