New-York tribune., 1901-08-11

some months she has been in Nova Scotia for her
health, and a short time ago sent word TO her
curator TO sell the collection.
North American birds 10 the number Of eight hum
dred and fifty species represented in the collec-
ton. There is at least one full set Of each kind
BY full set is meant all the eggs that bird lays
for one hatchng, which varies from one to twenty.
There nearly ten thousand of these full sets
in ALL representing thirty thousand eggs. In case
of rare birds the nests obtained wherever pos
sibe. and the collection includes rs of them. Two
hundred birds mounted in connec-
ton with the nests and eggs.
The prize of the collection is big nest Of twgs
and grass which nutcracker. named after
Clark the explorer, built in the mountains of Utah
a few years ago. In the big nest the nutcracker
laid four little eggs, and Matching them when
expedition headed by Miss Bell swooped down
upon it. In order to make the set complete the
mother bird was killed by hunter with with me party; @
placed in a collection, according to Mr.. Childs. The
pumage the color Of slate, is practically extinct
Next in point Of interest are three sets Of eggs
obtained with great difficulty The species is found
in the sides of rocky cliffs. The specimens were
sighted with field glass. and taken by lowering
species is nearly extinct The egg is about the
size Of that laid by the swan, and IS a delicate
green in color.
There is one bird that is without nest representa-
ton in the big collection This ISIS Is for the simple
reason that IL builds no nest. me %hlppoor~l IS
eggs in the sand or among the pebbles along the
whippoorwill. because they are sand colored and
quite small.
OF birds which build nests the oven bird is most
advanced in the art of concealment. The Childs
collection contains fourteen sets. The bird builds
IN tufts of grass. using the same sort of for
the building material. The is little mud hut
| entirely covered with dome shaped roof The
! bird is absolutely concealed while nesting.
A set of solitary sandpiper's eggs to
! Miss Bell from one Of the upper Canadian prov
inces and Mr.. Childs believes that it is the only
set that has ever been obtained. The bird usually
nests far up in arctic regions. Miss Bell paid 500
| for the set of five eggs.
The most snowy eggs in the collection are twenty
two sets Of caracara, a bird which resembles the
eagle and the vulture. The eggs are lttle larger
than hens eggs. and have white background
They spotted most artistically with irregular
dark brown blotches. Fifty species of warblers are
represented in the collection which is also COM
plee in nests and eggs of ducks. There are ninety
sets Of sharp Skinned hawks. which breed in the
Hudson Bay country; ninety four sets Of ospreys
FISH hawk; eighty-ive sets of California jay forty
eight sets of desert sparrow hawks from the arid
regions of Arizona, fftysiX sets of turkey vultures
and fifty sets Of black vultures. Not TO be over
looked because Of their small size four hundred
sets Of humming birds eggs, two each in a nest:
They come from every part Of the country, and
differ greatly in coloTing.
The Bell collection wifi be added to Mr.. Childs's
collection of four hundred full sets of eggs. He
also has seven hundred species of birds. mostly
males In their finest plumage. They exceed
ingly well mounted and include number of
specimens.