Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-11-17
COLLECTORS OF EGGS.
INTERESTING WORK OF THE
ORNITHoLOGIST
How the Eggs of Wild Birds Arc Ere,
quently MISUNDERSTANDING the Nests
OF the Feathered Creatures Their
uablts--Vaiuabie Specimens.

Wild and uninhabited regions are
poor places to collect eggs, accord
ing to the ornithologIsts. Mr..
Ernest Ingersoll, a well-known ex-
pert in this branch of science, calls
attention to the fact that birds gen.
orally are to be found near to the
abodes of man. In places not far
from human habitations there is
usually a good supply OF food, as we'll
as shelter from enemies So it hap
pens that the smaller feathered crea-
lures particularly make themselves
neighbors of mankind, building their
nests, rearing their young and OBJ
tanning their sustenance in and about
the roadside, orchard and garden,
instead of seeking the lonely shades
OF the forests OF course exceptions
to this general rule are to be found
in the sea-fowl, the wild and fierce
hawks and some marsh birds, the
last by nature exceedingly eremite
and solitary.
Thus it happens that the collector
OF eggs does not have to explore the
deserts and other lonely lands in
order to supply material for his
cabinet. The birds whose nests he
seeks to rob are mostly discovered
near at hand. True. he must often
exert much ingenuity to find certain
varieties. A method sometimes
adopted is to put in some place where
it can be easily seen a bunch of hay,
or straw, or cotton, watching it TO
observe whittier the fowls of the air
which come to it for Matchmaking
stuff wing their flight. But in many
instances the nests when found are
very difficult to reach. This is the
case with some of the sea birds,
which make their homes in the
vertical faces Of cliffs. Usually these
cliffs overhang the surf or some deep
chasm in the mountains. so as to be
hopelessly inaccessible from below.
Then it is question of getting at the
oggs from above, which Is often a
matter of great difficulty and danger.
Quite a number of egg collectors
have lost their lives in trying to rob
nests in the faces of lofty seward
cliffs. Commonly rope is en-
ployed for making the descent from
the summit of such crag. To at
tempt that sort of thing alone and
unassisted is extremely perilous.
The rope is apt to be frayed through
by the rock, so as to precipitate the
adventurous climber TO the bottom.
The best way to get over this diff
Guilty is to rig a sort of pulley at the
edge of the elf through which the
rope may run. This is troublesome,
but it pa when valuable specimens
reward the effort Anyone who un.
derstands the business will mako
sure to have at least one companion
with him, and the person lowered
should always be securely fastened
such as may attack the most ex-
perienced individual, should render
him helpless and unable TO hold On.
biologists nowadays usually take
the nests as we'll as the eggs. The
former are deemed important as ex-
hibiting the work of the birds. In
their construction the ingenuity OF
the feathered creatures is chiefly ex-
hibited. Besides, the structure OF
them is most interesting What
can surpass, says an ornithologist,
"the delicacy of the humming- birds
home, glued to messy branch, or
nesting in the point of a pendent
leaf; the vireo's silken hammock; the
orioles gracefully swaying purse;
the biackbird's model basket in the
flags; the snug little caves OF the
marsh wrens; the hermit huts OF the
sly wagtails, or the stout fortresses
OF the socia5le swallows?"
Nests that are built in trees and
bushes are best secured by saving off
the branches to which they are at
tached. For this purpose the col
lector carries knife with q saw
blade. The nest should never be de-
tached from the branch on which it
has been built. Nests of other kinds,
such as have been constructed on the
ground, may have to be tied together
with a string before they are taken
away. lest they be broken. The
swallow and the phoebe bird make
their nests of mud, and these must
be fitted tightly into boxes to keep
them from crumbling. Ia order that
nests may not be destroyed by in
sects or decay it is very necessary
that they shall be subjected to a
process of disinfection before they
are put away. One way to do this is
to put the nest in u box perforated
with few pin holes, together with
small sponge saturated with car
bolic acid. Another method is to
blow the nest full of Persian insect
powder, which may be blown out
again after q few hours.
the eggs, If they are fresh, should
be emptied of their contents as soon
as they are taken. They can be car
ried more safely when empty. II
they contain embryos, however, this
should not be attempted. In old
times eggs were commonly blown by
breaking hole at each end. taking
out the contents, and stringing the
shells for ornaments The oologist
i 4 II.