oological kleptomania

"Some eggers' mania for collecting extends to drawers of seashells or boxes of toy soldiers. Most of those jailed have speeded their own journey to the cells thanks to the evidence of their own index cards or coded computer files carefully detailing every clutch and theft. An obsessive-compulsive attention to detail can obscure reality. On one police raid, officers were amazed to find an egger reminding them to wipe their feet and not spoil his carpet.

Others seem addicted, gripped by an obsession they can no longer master. When the knock finally comes on some collectors' doors "there's this dawning realisation of what they've been doing for 20 years or more," says Thomas. "We've had some break down and cry and say, 'I'm so glad you've finally come, this has been controlling me for years. The breeding season comes and I can't stop going out and collecting eggs.'"

excerpt from here.
via the kircher society.