EGGS OF THE RKRD WARBLER^ ETC, 2()3 



arundinacea,) is with us rather the smaller of the two; T have always found 

 it tinged and spotted with green, in which respect, as well as in size, it more 

 nearly resembles the egg of the Garden Warbler, (Curruca Jiortensis.) There 

 is, I know, considerable diversity of opinion in reference to the eggs of the 

 Garden Warbler and those of the Blackcap, (Curruca atricapilla:) thus Mr. 

 Hewitson, in his "Coloured Illustrations of the Eggs of British Birds," says, 

 "it was my belief that the eggs of the Garden Warbler, although in some of 

 the varieties resembling those of the Blackcap, were usually to be distinguished 

 from them by their more beautiful and bright colouring. Mr. Henry Doubleday, 

 of Epping, upon whose authority I have the utmost reliance, assures me that 

 the reverse is more frequently the case; ^that the eggs of the Garden Warbler 

 are generally smaller than those of the Blackcap, and never so bright in colour,' 

 but that the two often approach each other." "Who shall decide, etc." The 

 principal marks of distinction which have presented themselves in the specimens 

 I have hitherto found are these: — the eggs of the Blackcap are rather larger, 

 and more oblong in shape, than those of the Garden Warbler, while the eggs 

 of the latter are more or less tinged with a greenish colour, which I have 

 never yet observed in those of the former. 



Mr, Brown goes on to say "The Whinchat's egg is a pale blue, precisely 

 like the Hedge Warbler's, the Redstart's, and the Wheatear's, between which 

 there is such a resemblance, that, if mixed, they could scarely be identified 

 again." Now the eggs of the Whinchat, [Saxicola rubetra,) which I have 

 procured, instead of being "a pale blue," are of a beautiful dark greenish 

 blue, and mostly speckled with pale brown; it may be that in some specimens 

 this latter characteristic is wanting, and in such cases it would be exceedingly 

 difficult to distinguish them from the eggs of the Hedge Warbler, (Accentor 

 modularis.) The egg of the Redstart, (Phcenicura ruticilla,) may be distin- 

 guished by its smaller size. The eggs of the Wheatear, {Saxicola oenanthe,) 

 are indeed "a pale blue;" I have many specimens, and those not faded ones 

 from exposure to the light, or from the length of time I have had them, 

 but specimens of precisely the same colour as they were when newly laid, 

 of as pale a blue as a mixture of chalk and water, or, which I need hardly 

 observe is one and the same thing — London milk; this, together with their 

 larger size, will serve in most instances to distinguish them from the eggs 

 of the Hedge Warbler, with which they are most likely to be confounded, 



1 agree with Mr. Brown, in recommending all who may feel desirous of 

 forming a collection, to ^'collect their own eggs" as far as may be practicable, 

 since there are many species, which, if mixed together, there would be less 

 chance of identifying again than those he has mentioned; and besides, eggs 

 will occasionally be met with, the colour, markings, and the whole appearance 

 of which, instead of being a guide to us in deciding on the birds that pro- 

 duced them, have just the opposite tendency; being directly calculated, like 

 an Ignis fatuus, whether natural, moral, religious, social, or political, to mislead, 

 so that it would be utterly impossible for any one except the person who 



