THE 3L0G1ST 



121 



which were ready to hatch, while the 

 remaiuder were fresh or nearly so. 

 And again there would be egtS in the 

 same nest with young over a week old, 

 or young ones varying a week or ten 

 days in age. This pelican Las not the 

 conterminous habit, at least as a rule, 

 for we found maay nests with three 

 and four perfectly fresh eggs in them. 

 One point is evident, if the charg^T of 

 thievery is proven, and it is that the 

 old bird-s know their limit as to n lim- 

 ber of eggs, for not in a single instance 

 were m u^j than f.nir e^jgs or young, or 

 both, found in one net 



When the young birds emerge from 

 the eggs, the old birds cairy the useless 

 shells away, and it is rare to tind any 

 portions nearer than ten feet from the 

 nest. The Robin and u.ost nt the other 

 small birds simply fly with the shell 

 and let it fa.l, but some species, as the 

 shore birds will carry the bits of .^hell 

 about for some time, and the Spotted 

 Sandpiper has been seen to carry the 

 shells to the water and immerse the 

 pieces. 



Some spL'Ciea of our feathered friends 

 conceal their nests must effectually in 

 holes and out-of the way placets; others 

 build their nests in plain sight but rely 

 on deception of appearance, as the Hum- 

 mer and Gnatcatcher; and still others 

 rely solely on the protection afforded 

 by the markings and color of the eggs. 

 The shore birds and terns and gulls re- 

 ly entirely upon the protective colora- 

 tion of their spotted eggs. I have (;ften 

 hunted in vain for the nest of the 

 Spotted Sandpiper, Kiildeer and Field 

 Plover, when I knew that their eggs 

 were lying in plain sight and probably 

 quite near to me. The Kiildeer never 

 builds a nest to my knowledge, but 

 deposits its eggs on the ground, gener- 

 ally selecting a spot in the Held or lake 

 front where there is a plentiful supply 

 of gravel, which makes it very difficult 

 to discover the speckled eggs. At times 

 the old birds arrange the small pebbles 



about the four eggs, and if this gravel 

 is disarranged it will be found to be 

 placed in position again by the follow- 

 ing day. 



In the deposition of their eggs the 

 birds differ vastly as to time required. 

 The Great Northern Diver lays its two 

 eggs two or three days apart, and 

 many of the larger birds skip a day. 

 This may be considered as a rule; that 

 those birds which lay a good many 

 eggs at a clutch are in the habit of de- 

 positing an egg a day during the period 

 of deposition, while the birds which 

 lay but a few eggs are more apt to have 

 longer periods between the additions. 

 The two cuckoos, Black-billed and Yel- 

 low-billed, which usually deposits two 

 or three, sometimes four eggs, often 

 have periods of three days between the 

 eggs, and always as much as two full 

 days. The small birds are all credited 

 with laying the eggs in the order of 

 one a day, and some have beaten this 

 record to a marked degree in the de- 

 positing of a set of four or five. Once 

 in the case of a Phoebe, the five eggs 

 were laid in four days, and a Chipping 

 Sparrow laid its four egg.s in much un- 

 der four days The buzzird hawks 

 depi^sit an egg every two days, while 

 the Sparrow and Cooper's hawks lay 

 oftener Great-home^ owls have a 

 period of two days between the deposit- 

 ing of the first and second eggs, and as 

 the eggs are generally laid in cold 

 weather, the old bird begins setting as 

 so u as the first egg is laid. Fi'om this 

 it results that the young are hatched at 

 two davs apart and this dift'erence in 

 size is noticable until the birds leave 

 the nest The Rails lay an egg every 

 day, as do also the Woodpeckers. 



Do birds carry their eggs and young? 

 Some species certainly do, and have 

 been recorded in the act. I have never 

 seen this method of removal, but fully 

 trust in the observations of my friends. 

 An observer in whom I have confidence 

 tells me that he has seen the old Wood- 



