age of the runts; the variations in the color of the remaining 

 runts are only slight and the tendency is toward deeper shades, 

 although a few lighter types exist. 



Mr. O. W. Knight has kindly furnished some valuable obser- 

 vations on the prolific laying of a Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enu- 

 clator) in captivity, together with one of the sets laid by the bird. 

 These eggs were laid July 15, 16 and 17, 1896, and were the fifth 

 laying of a total of six sets (19 eggs) laid by the bird during the 

 season. In ground color and markings they vary from abnor- 

 mally pale in the first and largest to a much darker shade in the 

 third and last egg of the set. Mr. Knight carefully marked the 

 eggs each day as they were deposited, so there can be no doubt 

 about the trend of coloration. It would be interesting to know 

 if it in a common thing for eggs to deepen in color as the laying 

 progresses. In studying the individuality in the eggs of certain 

 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks, Kentucky Warblers and others I have 

 run across a few such instances, but by far the greater number 

 of the sets showed the first egg to possess the darker shades and 

 markings. Unfortunately the abnormal sets collected by me 

 were stumbled upon after the laying was completed and conse- 

 quently tUe trend of coloration, where it did exist, could not be 

 determined. From the records at hand, it seems that the col- 

 lectors of the sets herein treated, met with the same experience, 

 except Mr. Knight who had the birds continuously under his 

 watchful eye. 



Size. — It is difficult, sometimes, to decide when the meas- 

 urements of an egg are deficient in normal characteristics, so 

 great is the variation in the size of eggs of many species. 



Occasionally one will find monstrocities and runts in the same 

 nest, and while neither seem to differ widely from the normal 

 measurements, their own variations as an individual clutch are 

 remarkable. 



In point of cubical capacity, the largest egg in proportion to 

 the normal is found in the set of Song Sparrow, No. 103, collect- 

 ed by William L. Kells, Listowell, Ont., Can. This egg, which 

 measures 1.08x.54 inches, has a capacity nearly one-third great- 

 er than its normal companion. Another egg of this set is a tiny 

 runt, measuring .46x .39 inch The runt in the set of Verdin, No. 

 59, and that in the set of Maryland Yellow-throat, No. 55, are the 

 smallest in the collection; the former being about one-fourth 

 and the latter one-fifth normal capacity. So far as I am aware 

 these two runts are the smallest on record. I am always im- 

 pressed with the fact that the majority of those abnormalities, de- 

 fective in size, are strikingly similar to normal specimens with 

 simply an increased or decreased cubical capacity. The small- 



