Algernon Wasp's exotic requests send you after egret, heron and spoonbill plumes, gator eggs and orchids. The hard parts are the egret plumes, which need the exact species, and the orchids, which sit at fixed spots scattered across the map.
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Request 1
This first request is where you learn the bird rules. The only plant here, Lady of the Night Orchids, sits in the southern bayou.
Request 2
Take whichever heron flock you find first, since Great Blue and Tricolored both count. The orchids here sit in different regions, Big Valley and Roanoke Ridge, so plan a separate stop for each.
Request 3
Gator eggs come from fixed nests that hold several eggs, and an adult alligator may be guarding one. Deal with the guard before you reach the eggs.
Request 4
Roseate Spoonbill plumes are the biggest bird ask in the chain, so gather them early, while you're already hunting birds in the bayou.
Request 5
This is the last request, so there's no next one to plan for. Most of the orchids on it grow on the ground.
Quantity is how many you need for that item, gathered from any of its spots. Stage reward is the payout when you return that request to Algernon.
How to Start Algernon's Requests
Algernon Wasp's requests open after The Gilded Cage in Chapter 4. Find him in the greenhouse north of Saint Denis and accept the first one. He gives them as the stranger mission Duchesses and Other Animals, one request at a time. The next request only opens after you return the current one. Check the Exotic Collector's List in your satchel under Documents > Notes > Exotic Collector's List.
Exotic Request Rewards
Each return pays the cash for that request. Add up the payouts and the cash comes to $760.
| Request | Cash on return |
|---|---|
| Request 1 | $110 |
| Request 2 | $125 |
| Request 3 | $150 |
| Request 4 | $175 |
| Request 5 | $200 |
The final return, Request 5, also gives the Exotic Hat and Algernon's Revolver.
Egret Plumes Need the Exact Species
Request 1 asks for plumes from Little Egrets, Reddish Egrets and Snowy Egrets, and each species counts on its own. A Snowy Egret won't count toward the Little Egret plumes. Egret flocks vary, so search in daylight and hunt all three species in the same stretch of Western Bayou Nwa, south of the O in Lemoyne. If the flock in front of you is the wrong species, move on.
Getting Plumes Without Wasting Birds
Search for Roseate Spoonbills around midday. Kill and skin each bird before you move on, because a bird you leave unskinned won't give you the plume. Dead Eye can help you take birds down before a flock scatters.
When a spot comes up empty, leave the area and come back on a later visit. Flocks move, so the same stretch of bayou won't always hold birds.
Orchid Spots and Being One Short
Orchid spots are fixed, so once you find one, you can return to it. Use Eagle Eye as you reach each area to pick out the flowers.
Some orchids can stop spawning one short of what a request asks for until that request is active. If you're one short, check that the request is live with Algernon, then go back to the spots you haven't picked yet.
A Route Through Lemoyne and Beyond
Bayou Nwa covers most of the bird hunt and several orchid searches. Gator eggs also appear on the southern Lemoyne islands around Shady Belle. You can gather a later request's items before it opens, so one trip through the bayou can cover more than one request.
Big Valley and Roanoke Ridge sit outside the bayou, so give them their own trip. Each one holds a Request 2 orchid, and the northern part of Roanoke Ridge also has Request 5 orchids. Grizzlies East is another separate stop for the Dragon's Mouth orchids.
Can You Miss Any Exotics?
Nothing in this chain locks for good. The requests count toward 100 percent and can still be finished during post-story cleanup.
FAQ
Does Red Dead Online have Algernon's requests?
No. They're Story Mode only. In Red Dead Online, collecting runs through the Collector role instead; see Red Dead Online Roles.