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Oology

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File:Bird eggs.jpg
Mid-19th century illustration showing the eggs of a number of bird species

Oology (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> also oölogy) is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, nests and breeding behaviour. The word is derived from the Greek oion, meaning egg. Oology can also refer to the hobby of collecting wild birds' eggs, sometimes called egg collecting, birdnesting or egging, which is now illegal in many jurisdictions.<ref name=Henderson>Template:Cite book</ref>

HistoryEdit

As a scienceEdit

File:Egg collection part of AGW.jpg
Part of the egg collection of the german Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wanderfalkenschutz (Working Group for the Protection of Peregrine Falcons). Egg contents were analyzed for pesticide contamination.

Oology became increasingly popular in Britain and the United States during the 1800s. Observing birds from afar was difficult because high-quality binoculars were not readily available.<ref name=Henderson /> Thus it was often more practical to shoot the birds or collect their eggs. While the collection of the eggs of wild birds by amateurs was considered a respectable scientific pursuit in the 19th century and early 20th century,<ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref> from the mid 20th century onwards it was increasingly regarded as being a hobby rather than a scientific discipline.

In the 1960s, the naturalist Derek Ratcliffe compared peregrine falcon eggs from historical collections with more recent egg-shell samples, and was able to demonstrate a decline in shell thickness.<ref name="barkham" /> This was found to cause the link between the use by farmers of pesticides such as DDT and dieldrin, and the decline of British populations of birds of prey.

As a hobbyEdit

Egg collecting was still popular in the early 20th century, even as its scientific value became less prominent. Egg collectors built large collections and traded with one another. Frequently, collectors would go to extreme lengths to obtain eggs of rare birds. For example, Charles Bendire was willing to have his teeth broken to remove a rare egg that became stuck in his mouth. He had placed the egg in his mouth while climbing down a tree.<ref name=Henderson />

In 1922, the British Oological Association was founded by Baron Rothschild, a prominent naturalist, and the Reverend Francis Jourdain; the group was renamed the Jourdain Society after Jourdain's death in 1940. Rothschild and Jourdain founded it as a breakaway group after egg collecting by members of the British Ornithologists' Union was denounced by Earl Buxton at a meeting of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.<ref name="Rubinstein">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Poaching lawsEdit

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In the UKEdit

Legislation, such as the Protection of Birds Act 1954 and Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom, has made it impossible to collect wild birds' eggs legally. In the United Kingdom, it is only legal to possess a wild-bird's egg if it was taken before 1954, or with a permit for scientific research; selling wild birds' eggs, regardless of their age, is illegal.<ref name="rspb" />

However, the practice of egg collecting, or egging, continues as an underground or illegal activity in the UK and elsewhere.<ref name="barkham" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1980s and 1990s, the fines allowed by the law were only a moderate deterrent to some egg collectors.<ref name="barkham">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 allowed for six months' imprisonment for the possession of the eggs of wild birds<ref name="rspb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and, since it came into force, a number of individuals have been imprisoned, both for possessing and for attempting to buy egg collections.<ref name="barkham" /> The Jourdain Society continued to meet although membership dwindled after 1994, when a dinner of the society was raided by police, assisted by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). This resulted in six members being convicted and fined.<ref name="Rubinstein" />

Despite this, some of those who engage in egg collecting show considerable recidivism in their activity. One, Colin Watson, was convicted six times before he fell to his death in 2006, while attempting to climb to a nest high up in a tree.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While the threat of imprisonment after 2000 encouraged some to give up egg collecting,<ref name="barkham" /> others were not deterred. One individual has been convicted ten times<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and imprisoned twice.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As recently as 2018, a man was imprisoned for amassing a collection of 5000 eggs,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after previously being imprisoned in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another man was convicted of possessing 200 eggs in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has been particularly active in fighting illegal egg collection and maintains an investigative unit that collects intelligence on egg collectors and assists police in mounting prosecutions on them, in addition to investigating other wildlife crimes.<ref name="Rubinstein" /> At one point, RSPB staff were being trained by soldiers from the Brigade of Gurkhas in camouflage skills and in surveillance, map and radio techniques, to better enable them to guard nests of rare birds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the United Kingdom, to avoid the possibility of prosecution, owners of old egg collections must retain sufficient proof to show, on the balance of probabilities, that the eggs pre-date 1981. However owners of genuinely old collections are unlikely to face prosecution as experienced investigators and prosecutors are able to distinguish them from recently collected eggs.<ref name="RSPB-OldCollection">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is illegal to sell a collection, regardless of the eggs' age, so old collections may only be disposed of by giving the eggs away or by destroying them. Museums are reluctant to accept donations of collections without reliable collection data (i.e. date and place that they were collected) that gives them scientific value. Also, museums no longer put egg collections on public display.<ref name="RSPB-Disposing">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the USEdit

In the United States, the collection and possession of wild bird eggs is also restricted, and in some cases is a criminal act. Depending on the species, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Lacey Act,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Endangered Species Act,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or other laws may apply.

CollectingEdit

MethodsEdit

When collecting eggs, normally the whole clutch of eggs is taken. Because eggs will rot if the contents are left inside, they must be "blown" to remove the contents. Although collectors will take eggs at all stages of incubation, freshly laid eggs are much easier to blow, usually through a small, inconspicuous hole drilled with a specialized drill through the side of the eggshell. Egg blowing is also done with domestic bird's eggs for the hobby of egg decorating.

Major research collectionsEdit

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Oologists and egg collectorsEdit

Oology related publicationsEdit

File:The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs (1915) (14772091963).jpg
The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs (1915)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Numerous books, and at one point a journal, have been published on egg collecting and identification:<ref name=Henderson />

  • Thomas Mayo Brewer, (1814–80), an American ornithologist, wrote most of the biographical sketches in the History of North American Birds, by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1874–84). He has been called "the father of American oölogy". He wrote North American Oölogy which was partially published in 1857.
  • William Chapman Hewitson, Illustrations of Eggs of British Birds, (third edition, London, 1856).
  • Archibald James Campbell, Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds: Embracing Papers On "Oology of Australian Birds," Read Before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, Supplemented by Other Notes & Memoranda; Also, an Appendix of Several Outs - Nesting, Shooting Etc., (A. J. Campbell, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1883) (Cover title: Oology of Australian Birds. Ferguson no. 7870)
  • Oliver Davie, Nests and Eggs of North American Birds, (fifth edition, Columbus, 1898).
  • Alfred Newton, Dictionary of Birds, (New York, 1893–96).
  • Template:Cite book

In popular cultureEdit

  • Chapter 7 of P.G. Wodehouse's novel The Pothunters describes a student's interest in hunting for the eggs of a water wagtail.
  • A 2007 episode of Midsomer Murders "Birds of Prey" surrounds illegal oology.
  • In 2017, Artist Andy Holden and father, ornithologist Peter Holden, staged a series of exhibitions titled Natural Selection, staged by Artangel,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> which took place at Bristol Museum, Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, and Leeds Art Gallery, in which they explored the 'social history' of oology in Britain. The exhibition included a vast recreation of an illegal egg collection, as well as a film narrating the history of egg collecting in Britain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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