Ernest Thompson Seton has for a long time been studying birds and animals, and writing about them. 欧尼斯特·汤普森·西顿长期研究鸟类和动物，并对此著书立作。

　　He is also an artist of wild life. 他还是一名野生动物艺术家。

　　For a number of years he lived in the backwoods of Canada and on the plains of the West. 他曾多年来一直住在加拿大森林地带，以及美国西部的平原之上。

　　In this article he gives some very sensible advice about gathering birds' nests. 在这篇文章中，他提供了许多关于采集鸟巢的合理意见。

　　What good are old bird-nests? These are some of the uses they serve: 老旧鸟巢有哪些好处？它们的功能有以下几点：

　　A deer mouse seeking the safety of a bramble thicket and a warm house, 鹿鼠会在荆棘丛中和舒适的家中寻找安全地，

　　will make his own nest in the deserted home of a catbird. 他们会在鸣禽的荒凉鸟巢安家。

　　A gray squirrel will roof over the open nest of a crow or hawk and so make it a castle in the air for himself. 灰色松鼠会在乌鸦或鹰的开放性鸟巢上方安家，它们是在空中建城堡。

　　But one of the strangest uses is this: the solitary sandpiper is a bird 但最奇怪的用法是以下几点：矶鹬是一种鸟类，

　　that cannot build a tree nest for itself and yet loves to give to its eggs the safety of a high place; 它无法为自己筑巢，但却喜欢在高处安全地带下蛋；

　　so it lays in the old nest of a robin, or other tree bird, and there its young are hatched. 所以它会在知更鸟的老巢下蛋，或是其它鸟类的老巢中孵化后代。

　　But this is only in the Far North. There are plenty of old bird-nests left for other uses and for you. 但这只会发生在最北方，还有一些老巢有其它用处，而且还可以供人类使用。

　　Bird-nesting in summer is wicked, cruel, and against the law. 夏天建鸟巢是痛苦的，而且是有违常理的。

　　But bird-nesting in winter is good fun and harms no one if we take only the little nests 但冬天建鸟巢很有趣，而且不会伤害他人，如果我们只拿走一些小鸟巢，

　　that are built in forked twigs or on rock ledges. 它们的建造材料是细枝或建在岩架。

　　For most little birds prefer to make a new nest for themselves each season. 多数小鸟喜欢每个季节建一个新鸟巢。

　　If you get the nest of a goldfinch (floss nest), a phoebe (moss nest), a robin (mud nest), a vireo (good nest), 如果你拥有了金翅雀的鸟巢（丝棉鸟巢），霸鹟（苔藓鸟巢），知更鸟（泥巢），燕雀（漂亮巢）

　　a kingbird (rag nest), an oriole (bag nest), you have six different kinds of beautiful nests 霸鸟(碎布巢），金莺鸟（袋状巢），你就有了六种样式的华丽鸟巢，

　　that are easily kept for the museum, and you do no harm in taking them. 便于在博物馆保存，而且百利而无一害。