WARBLERS. TI 
mottled and marbled with light reddish - brown. 
Occasionally, however, perfectly colourless eggs of 
this bird are found; and I once met with a nest 
which contained no less than fez eggs, five of which 
were perfectly white, while the remaining five were 
of the ordinary character. 
The only explanation which I can give for so very 
unusual a phenomenon is that the hen bird, imme- 
diately after depositing her eggs, was accidentally 
killed, and that the cock at once took to himself a 
second mate. Possibly she was slain in battle, for 
the robin, despite its gentle and timid appearance, is 
a remarkably quarrelsome bird, and will fight to the 
death, even in defence of fancied rights. A case is 
recorded, for instance, in which a male robin, having 
taken up his abode in a small greenhouse, killed 
no less than twenty others of his own kind which 
had presumed to invade what he chose to consider as 
his private premises. Verily, the bird is not alto- 
gether the meek and inoffensive creature which we 
are accustomed to consider it. 
