LaHoyt, Henry Co., Ia., Mch. 10, ’88.
Messrs. Webster & Mead.
Dear Sirs:—March number of the H. O. and O. at hand, and must say it is a daisy. I am an oologist, and on January last I found a nest of the great horned owl, with two fresh eggs, which is the earliest I ever knew it to breed here. The nest was in an old snag, about ten feet from the ground. The owl could be plainly seen and I could almost see the eggs while standing on the ground. I had frequently noticed her on the snag, but thought she was roosting there through the day. At the time I found the nest, the snow was on an average of two feet deep. This is the second nest of this species that I have ever found.
Red-tailed hawks are plenty here. I found eight nests in one season; they nest here in February and June, raising two broods. They always use the same nests each year unless they are disturbed. I once found a nest in which they had only laid one egg, so I went away, leaving it until they had finished the set. I visited the nest four days afterward, but that egg was gone and they never used that nest again. I have never found a nest yet of the red-tailed hawk but what it was in a tall tree, and always leaning over a ravine. They trouble the farmers’ fowls a great deal, often killing the largest hens. I once set a steel trap by a hen which they had killed and next morning I had the male. Yours truly, James C. Jay.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROPERLY FORMING COLLECTIONS OF BIRDS’ EGGS.
If the identification has been effected only by obtaining a good view of the birds, the fact should be stated thus: “Bird well seen,” “Bird seen,” or “Bd. sn.,” as the case may be. For eggs not taken by the collector himself, but brought in by natives, or persons not having a knowledge of ornithology, the local name or the name applied by the finder should only be used, unless indeed it requires interpretation, when the scientific name may be added, but always within brackets thus: “Toogle-aiah (Squatarole helvetica);” the necessary particulars relating to the capture and identification being added. Eggs found by the collector, and not identified by him, but the origin of which he has reason to think he knows, may be inscribed with the common English name of the species to which he refers them; or if it has no appellation, then the scientific name may be used, but in that case always with a note of interrogation (?) after it, or else the words “Not identified.” If the collector prefers it, many of these particulars may be inscribed symbolically or in short-hand, but never unless the system used has previously been agreed upon with persons at home, and it be known that they have a key to it. Each specimen should bear an inscription; those from the same nest may be inscribed; but different nests, especially of the same or nearly allied species, should never be so marked that confusion can possibly arise. It is desirable to mark temporarily with a pencil each egg as it is obtained; but the permanent inscription, which should always be ink, should be deferred until after the egg has been emptied. The number terminating the inscription in all cases referring to the page of the collector’s note-book, wherein full details may be found, and the words or letters preceding the number serving to distinguish between different collectors, no two of whom ought to employ the same. (The initial letter of the collector’s name, prefixed to the number, will often be sufficient.)
PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS.
Eggs are emptied, with the least amount of trouble, at one hole, which should be drilled in the side with an instrument called the egg-drill. The hole should, of course, be proportioned to the size of the egg and the amount of incubation it has undergone. Eggs that are hard sat upon are more easily blown by being kept a few days, but the operation must not be deferred, too long, or they are apt to burst violently immediately upon being punctured, though this may be avoided by holding them under water while the first incision is made. The hole being drilled, the lining membrane should be cleared away from the orifice with a small penknife, by which means not only is the removal of the contents, but the subsequent cleansing of the specimen facilitated. The small end of a blowpipe should then be introduced, while the other extremity is applied to the mouth and blown through, at first very gently. If the embryo is found to be moderately developed, a stream of water should be introduced by means of a syringe, and the egg then gently shaken, after which the blowpipe may again be resorted to, until by the ultimate use of both instruments, aided by scissors, hooks, knives and forceps, the contents are completely emptied. After this the egg should be filled with water from the syringe, shaken, and blown out, which process is to be repeated until its interior is completely cleansed, when it should be laid upon a pad of blotting paper or fine cloth, with the hole downwards, its position on the pad or cloth being occasionally changed, until it is perfectly dry. During this time it should be kept as much as possible from the light, especially from the sunshine, as the colors are then more liable to fade than at any subsequent time. In the case of very small eggs, when fresh, the contents may be sucked out by means of a bulbed tube, and the interior afterwards rinsed but as before. It is always advisable, as far as possible, to avoid wetting the outside of the shell as the action of water is apt to remove the “bloom,” affect the color, and in some cases alter the crystalization of the shell. Consequently dirt stains or dung spots should never be removed. While emptying the contents, it is well to hold the egg over a basin of water, to avoid breakage in case of its slipping from the fingers. Eggs that are very hard sat upon, of whatever size they may be, should be treated in the manner detailed in “Concluding Observations,” in next issue, which is a method superior to any other known at present to the writer for preventing injury arising to them. Should the yolk of the egg be dried up, a small portion of carbonate of soda may be introduced (but with great care that it does not touch the outer surface of the shell, in which case the color is likely to be affected) and then the egg filled with water from the syringe, and left to stand a few hours with the hole uppermost, after which the contents are found to be soluble and are easily removed by the blowpipe, assisted by one of the hooks. It is almost unnecessary to add, except for the benefit of beginners, that the manipulation of the different instruments requires extreme caution, but a few trials will give the collector the practice necessary for success. Those who may still prefer to blow eggs by means of two holes are particularly requested not to make them at the ends of the eggs, nor on opposite sides, but on the same side. In this case the hole nearest the smaller end of the egg should be the smallest and the contents blown out at the other. If the holes are made at the ends of the eggs, it not only very much injures their appearance as cabinet specimens, but also prevents their exact dimensions from being ascertained accurately; and if they are made at opposite sides, the extent of the “show surface” is thereby lessened.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
THE HAWKEYE
ORNITHOLOGIST & OOLOGIST