Birds' Egcfs In the Transvaal Museum. 79 



deopor, with some rather " Banting-like " scrawl-markings 

 wiiich seem to come up through the shell. 

 Clutches 2, 5, 8, 11 are type A. 

 Clutches 1, 4 are intermediate. 

 Clutches 3, G, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 are type B. 

 Sizes. Max. length 2G'7 nun. 



Min. „ 2-6-2 „ 



Mean „ (of 19) 24-93 „ 

 Max. breadth 17-9 



Min. „ 16-0 „ 



Mean „ (of 19) 16-97 „ 

 Some few of the eggs were damaged and could not be 

 accurately measured, so have been omitted from measure- 

 ment. 



The Cuckoos' eggs ^re of oval shape ; smooth texture and 

 slight gloss. 



Colour. AVhite. 

 Sizes : — 



Coccijstes serratus, Sparrm. 

 {a) In clutch G : 28-0 x 22-7 mm. 



27-7 X 22-5 „ (No. 1). 



no measurement taken by accident (No.2). 



2G-0x21-8 mm. 



26-0 X 21-5 „ 



Cuadus clamosiis. Lath. 



(a) In clutch 8 : 25-2 x 21*0 mm. 



(A) „ „ 9: 26-0x21-0 „ 



{<■) „ „ 11 : 28-4x23-0 „ 



{d) „ „ 14: 26-0x216 „ 



In clutch 13 I was unable to identify the eggs with 

 certainty. My impression as to the result of the examination 

 of this series of Cuckoos' eggs is that it is difficult to distin- 

 guish the eggs of the two species with certainty. In all 

 cases in which parasitic species lay their eggs in the nests of 

 other species there is always some ditficulty in identification. 

 Apparently both these Cuckoos deposit eggs very similar in 

 aj)pearanco in the nests of the same host, so that the difficulty 

 of identification is rendered very troublesome. The parasitic 



7* 



