MAY, 1878. 



A Nondescript Egg. 



CCASIONALLY odd freaks of na- 

 ture will come to the notice of col- 

 lectors, or a circumstance entirely 

 unexpected, will be revealed suddenly in 

 the face of positive assertions and generally 

 received supposition to the contrary. How- 

 ever, abnormities of real worth and signif- 

 icance are rare, and we must content ourr 

 selves with learning as much as we can 

 from existing irregularities in nature, of 

 whatever degree of importance. 



Attention was called some time since bv 

 Mr. W. T. Warrick, of Washington, Fa.\ 

 to an egg supposed to be the joint ovipro- 

 duction of a Robin and Crow Blackbird, 

 from facts deemed of sutlicient strength to 

 favor the supposition at once. The fact, 

 aside from having no precedent as far as 

 kiiown, when considered in relation with 

 the surrounding circumstances, and the sup- 

 port offered in its behalf by the nondescript 

 egg, which excited interest and stimulated 

 thorough inquiry, may, possibly, offer ev- 

 idence in defense of the argument that ab- 

 normal eggs, so called, are not always the 

 property of a normal pair of birds ; and 

 if the circumstances shown fail to substan- 

 tiate the true position of the case, there is 

 room for extensive reflection. 



Briefly, the facts are as follows : While 

 collecting, Mr. Warrick's brother found, 

 in a dilapidated sheep-shed, on a beam 

 near the roof, a supposed Robin's nest, up- 

 on which the bird was sitting. When she 

 had flown oflf", the nest was perceived to con- 

 tain three eggs, two of which our corres- 

 pondent had no hesitation whatever in pro- 

 nouncing respectively that of a Robin and 

 a Crow Blackbird, the former being of a 



clear green, the latter bluish-green, with 

 the usual markings characteristic of the 

 eggs of Q. purpureus. The tliird egg is 

 unmistakably of the size and shape of a 

 Robin's e'^]Xi and is covered over its whole 

 surface with an indefinable brown color, 

 completely dissembling the ground color, if 

 indeed there is any ;* this coloring is irreg- 

 ular, and has a mottled appearance, resem- 

 bling somewhat, the coloring of a Rusty 

 Blackbird's egg, though not so distinct. 

 The entire surface is equally covered. We 

 have endeavored to show the disposition 

 and intensity of color, together with the 

 exact size and shape of the egg, in the 

 engraviuir. 



, At our suggestion, Mr. Warrick revisit- 

 ed the nest and gleaned from the surround- 

 ing circumstances much that bears directly 

 upon the belief advanced. The shed which 

 contained the nest alluded to, was occupied 

 by two nests of the Crow Blackbird, and a 

 flock of the same species were foimd about 

 the place. The following is, in substance, 

 an account of the circumstances transmitted 

 by our correspondent. In relation to the 

 finding of the nest by his brother, he says : 



*In looking through the eg^g by holding it 

 I to the light, tile substance of the sliell seems 

 ! to be green, but this is true of the Hawks,' 

 i Eagles', some of the Terns', Gulls', and other 

 ' species of eggs, whose outer surface is white 

 or liglit colored. 



