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The second district is as distinctive in its character as 

 the first. It is that lying immediately beyond the shingle, 

 covered with sparse stunted vegetation and heaps of 

 debris. Here we have the waterousel, wagtail, piedwag- 

 tail, flycatcher, black-headed bunting, stonechat, whinchat, 

 and titlark. 



The third belt lies farther still from the river, densely 

 covered with underwood, whin, bramble, and thorn and 

 willow, with occasional flag-edged or mud-bordered pools. 

 Here the wild duck, coot, teal-duck, snipe, water-rail, 

 sedge-warbler, pheasant, willow-wren, snow-bunting, siskin, 

 red-pole, redstart, greenfinch, snowflake, titmouse, long- 

 tailed tit, meadow-pipit, and golden -crested wren, all nest. 

 All these I mention apart from the ordinary every-day 

 birds known to us all. 



Nothing is more remarkable than the strong resem- 

 blance which the eggs of these birds, as far as colour 

 goes, have to the particular locality in which they nest. 

 To generalise a little, the eggs of all birds, the nests of 

 which may be definitely expected in stated characteristic 

 localities, are distinctly typical in colour of their immediate 

 surroundings. And, further, the eggs of all birds having a 

 great variety of nesting place — that is, which do not nest in 

 any characteristic locality — have great diversity of colour, 

 and are consequently less distinctive. To illustrate this I 

 will select four birds of different and marked habitat — the 

 oyster-catcher, the water-hen, curlew, and grouse. The 

 first is an out-and-out " scaup" or shingle bird. The egg is 

 of a warm-stone colour, speckled not profusely with grey and 

 warm brown. Only an adept could come upon them other 

 than accidentally, so thoroughly do they resemble the 

 shingle amongst which they lie, for these waders and 

 shore-frequenting birds build no nest. The eggs of the 

 water-hen have a lighter ground shade, more ochrey, with 



