Till', I'lJCKl'R. 47 



and more often sets in which the eggs are irregularly elliptical 

 ovate, sometimes sharply pointed. 



Color. Fresh eggs are a beautiful translucent white, the 

 yolk showing through and suffusing the whole shell with a 

 mellow delicate pink. When blown this pale wild rose bloom 

 disappears, the shell retailis the translucency in decreasing 

 amount until it is dry when it is simply a pearly glittering 

 white. — Lynds Jones. All colorless fii:e textured eggs, es- 

 pecially when fresh, seem to emit a faint glow and in this state 

 are admired by field oologists more than the clear porcelain 

 white specimens in the cabinet. Not rarely a set of prepared 

 eggs show a creamy suffusion, which, if the cause was un- 

 known, would deceive one into believing it to be naturally 

 produced. If the eggs are left standing unblowi: for a number 

 of days, the yolks will .settle and the lining absorb enough 

 coloring matter to stain it a uniform creamy-buff, which, show- 

 ing through the semi-transparent .shells, gives them the same 

 appearance. With every reason for the belief that the pre- 

 historic bird had a reptilian ancestry and that plain white eggs 

 would most naturally be produced by the descendants of such 

 progenitors for a time at least, uncolored eggs must be regard- 

 ed as the least modified as far as external appearance goes. 

 Some .species advanced along the line of involuntary protec- 

 tive coloration of their eggs, while others habitually nesting 

 in dark cavities, in large colonies or practically safe places, as 

 the Petrels, Pelicans, Pigeons. Owls, Kingfi.shers, Woodpeck- 

 ers, Swifts, Hummingbirds, etc., have undergone .slight changes 

 apparently. According to Dr. Brewer, "Any egg, always 

 excepting a Woodpecker's, is liable to be marked (.stained) by 

 minute infusions of colored lymph of the parent in exlcusion." 

 On what grounds he excludes the W^oodpeckers is purely con- 

 jectural, but if it is on account of the fine texture and polish, 

 the Kingfishers should also have been made an exception. It 

 would appear, moreover, that Woodpeckers' eggs are accasion- 

 ally spotted. It is reported that Audubon once found a se^ of 

 .spotted eggs of the Three-toed Woodpecker. Angus Gaines, 

 Viscennes, Ind., noted a .set of eggs of the Red-headed Wood- 

 pecker with reddish spots at the larger ends ( .see Oo/oo/sf. \'o\. 

 XII, p. 118) and in Vol. VIII, p. VHi of the .same paper a .set 

 of four eggs of the Flicker, .spotted with dull red, is recorded 



