Yet it is not difficult to see that Oölogy promises to become an important auxiliary both in aiding to determine natural divisions, and to enable us to decide in regard to varieties the specific identity of which is in doubt. Let us take an instance. … Without looking at all to the external structure of these birds, Oölogy would seem to indicate that the Cat-Bird, though closely allied to the true Mocking-Bird, is at least one step, and that the Brown Thrush is even farther, removed.

Now here is just one of those cases, which bring the study of Oology, and very justly, into more discredit than any other thing. M. [Alfred] Moquin-Tandon's egg is very likely that of a Booted Eagle; but where is the proof of the fact? Absolutely, as we read it, there is none. … There are many collectors in this country, who yearly spend large sums in buying eggs from dealers—utterly un-identified, or with (since identification of eggs has lately become somewhat fashionable) a plausible history, but one that will not bear investigation.

A short sketch, such as Mr. [Cholmondeley] Pennell's, of the economy of the Bird, would be a most valuable addition to our ordinary ornithologies and oologies. He said oologies, for even in the egg of the bird the special needs of the forthcoming bird seemed to be more especially provided for than in the eggs of other families much higher in the scale.
Used here to mean a work about oology.]

When we come to examine the oölogy of the great Columbo-gallinaceous group, one well represented in the avifauna of the United States, it is possible to make the comparisons quite extensive, owing to [Charles] Bendire's exhaustive labors, as seen in his fine quarto volume already spoken of at the beginning of this paper.

The philosophy behind this meeting was to bring together scientists who specialised in the incubation and physiology of avian embryos with those workers interested in reptilian eggs and embryos. Leading authorities within many fields of incubation, oology and embryology were invited to give a presentation reviewing current knowledge within their sphere of research.

Besides his life as a student, Han [Henri Jacob Victor Sody] continued to be interested in ornithology, particularly oology. Apparently, he was a diligent collector of birds' eggs, both in the vicinity of Wageningen, and on excursion for this purpose to other places (Breda, Texel, etc.), and compiled a catalogue of eggs collected by him in The Netherlands.

In the late nineteenth century, there was a huge upsurge of interest in natural history collections by scientists and ordinary citizens. Victorian homes were commonly decorated with collections of stuffed birds, and oology, the study and collection of eggs blown clean of their contents, was all the rage.

Dave Marshall, Frank Graham, Chuck Henny, Lloyd Kiff, Phil Cuthbert, and Joe Mazzoni shared their knowledge of hunting, oölogy, and bird-skin preservation, and provided philosophical insight concerning men's desire to hunt.

Rudolf II's mania for [Bartholomeus] Spranger's porny Roman goddesses, Ferdinand II's devotion to big altarpieces, sudden gusts of oology, a bouquet of flowers made from precious stones given to Franz I by Maria Theresa – these all now became part of public sensibility.

Barely a day went by when Franklin [Delano Roosevelt] didn't talk about the world of birds. At ten years old he started dabbling in oology, the collecting of eggs and nests.

Oology is the 'pseudo-science' of egg-collecting. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries this was a respectable and popular activity, very much part of the ornithological establishment. However, as bird protection gradually gained in popularity, egg-collecting declined, and was finally made illegal under various Bird Protection Acts following the Second World War.

Oology

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Noun

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