Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-12-30
COLLECTORS OF EGGS
INTERESTING WORK OF THE
ORNITHoLoGlSTS-
aoE the Eggs o. VIA Birds Are IRE
qaentiy Gzth-rsd-studyiaS ths Vests
OF the FeAfhersa Gestures -Ihetr
Habifs-Valuabie spseiuasas-

hAnlt@- I 1tuluie esfrc4=l r--a-
Wild and uninhabited regions arc
poor places TO collect eggs accord
ing to the ornifhologl Mr..
Ernest Ingersoll, . Well-EnOWn ex-
pert in this branch Of science. calls (
attention TO the fact that birds gen
orally are 70 bs found near - the
abodes OF man. II places not lar
from human habitations there i
usually a good supply q food. as well
As shelter fptim enemies 80 il hap
pens that the smaller feathered erea-
lures particularly make themselves
neighb0rs Of mankind. building their
nests. rearing their young and Oh
tanning their sustenanee in and about
the roadside. orchard and garden.
instead Of seeking the lonely shades
81 the forests OF course exceptions
to lhis general rule are 70 Be found
I in the sea fowl. the wild and leree
hawks and some marsh birds. the
last BIZ nature exceedingly ersmlte
and solitary
Thus il happens that the collector
+ Of eggs does not have 70 explore the
! deserts and other lonely lands in
order to supply material for his
I cabinet The birds whose nests be
seeks 10 rob are mostly discovered
near at hand. True. he must often
/ exert much ingenuity 10 find certain
varieties A method sometimes
adopted is TO put in some place where
! it can be easily seen a bunch o. hay.
or straw. or cotton. watching il 10
I observe whittier the fowls o. the air
which come 10 it for nest making
stuff wing their flight But in many
i 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 ellis Usually these
cliffs oyerhang the surf or some deep
chasm in the mountains. 50 as 70 Be
I hopelessly inaccessible from below.
Then it Is a question OF getting az the
eggs from above, which Is often a
matter OF great difficulty ard danger.
Quite a number Of egg collectors
have lost their lives in trying to rob
nests 10 the faces OF lofty seward
cliffs Commonly q 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 periloas
The rope is apt to be frayed through
by the rock. so as to precipitate the
adventurous climber to the bottom
The Rest way to get over this diiii-
Guilty is to rig a sort Of pulley at the
edge Of the cliff through which the
rope may run This is troublesome.
but IL PAYS when valuable specimens
reward the effort Anyone who un.
derstsnds the business will make
sure to have at least one companion
with him. and the person lowered
should always b. securely fastened
to the rope. lest 4 fl OF dizziness.
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 well 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 oruithologist,
1.-THE deiicacy Of the humming- bird s
home, glued to messy branch. or
nesting in the point Of pendent
leaf; the vireO's 5ilken hammock: the
orioles gracefully swaying purse;
z .f-af lei Al
flags; the snug little caves Of the
marsh wrens; the hermit huts OF tho
sly wagtails. or the stout fortresses
Of the socia5le swallOws?"
Nests that are built in trees and
bushes are best secured by saving OF
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 dc.
tached from the branch on which IL
has been built Nests Of other kinds.
such as have been constructed on the
ground, may have to be tied togethet
with a string before they are taken
away, lest they be broken The
swallow and the ph1be bird make
their nests OF mud, and these must
be fitted tightly into boxes to keeI
them from crumbling. In order that
nests may not be destroyed by in.
sects or decay it is very necessary
that they shall be subjected TO {
process OF dis Infection before they
are put away. One way to do this is
TO put the nest in box perforated
with few pin holes, together with
small sponge saturated with car
bolic acid Another method is u
blow the nest full Of Persian insect
, powder, which may be blown ou
again after few hours.
I The eggs, II they are fresh, should
, BIO emptied OF their contents as soor
as they are taken. They can be car
,ied more safely when empty.
they contain embryos, however, thii
y should not be attempted In ole
, times eggs were commonly blown b,
, breaking a hole al each end. taking
/, out the contents, and stringing the
, | shells for ornaments The oolopis