The Eggs of Birds 



447 



which statement is apparent when we consider that the 

 havoc was wrought upon the adult birds and by man\ 



Wallace has suggested that the nests of doves are so 

 loosely and so flimsily built — being in reality mere plat- 

 forms of sticks — that, looking up at them, the eggs simu- 

 lated the colour of the sky beyond and so became incon- 

 spicuous; but unfortunately that argument is so decidedly 



Fig. 354. — Nest and eggs of Mallard Duck. 



suggestive of human presence that it loses much of its 

 value w^hen we remember that egg-hunters among the 

 mammals and birds do not stand on the ground to take 

 observations, but either climb the trees in search of nests 

 or fly low above the branches. 



The eggs of ducks and grouse are white or very light- 

 coloured, and are laid in open nests upon the ground. 

 The mother duck's plumage is the very essence of the 

 mottled lights and shadows among the reeds, and when 



