the Coloration of Eggs. 59o 



To-day (late afteriioou) I offered some fowl's egg (both 

 3'olk and white) in a spoon. The mongoose ate a little and 

 desisted, refusing to touch it again, smelt and refused an 

 egg each of Wren, Willow-Wren, Grey Wagtail, and Pied 

 Wagtail, but smelt and proceeded to eat a Spotted Fly- 

 catcher's; again refused the two Warblers' and the two 

 Wagtails', but at once commenced to eat another Spotted 

 Flycatcher's ; smelt and refused all as before, also the fowl's, 

 but at once, after smelling it, commenced on a Spotted 

 Flycatcher's from another clutch. I reoioved this, and he 

 repeated all his refusals, but smelt and began to lick out a 

 Hedge-SparroAv's egg that I held out to him. He soon 

 desisted, however, and at this moment I accidentally dropped 

 it between his fore feet. He ignored it, however ; then 

 repeated all his previous refusals, but with real eagerness 

 (in marked contrast to his acceptance even of the Flycatcher's 

 eggs) attacked, on smelling it, a House-Martin's egg. He 

 not only licked up its contents with the greatest rapidity 

 and zest, but kept returning to the empty shell and licking 

 and licking it, or crunching it further as a preliminary to 

 yet further licking. I next offered a nearly unspotted 

 W^ren's egg. Deceived possibly by the white colour, he 

 came forward with the greatest alacrity, but withdrew 

 promptly on smelling it, He then smelt and refused a 

 Willow-Wren's egg, the Wren's again, and both Wagtails', 

 but accepted and ate a Spotted Flycatcher's. I let him 

 finish it — the Hedge-Sparrow's was still lying ignored, pos- 

 sibly unnoticed (being far back), — and again offered the 

 fowl's egg in the spoon. This time he ate a little of it, but 

 quickly desisted, and, on my pressing it on him, rejected it 

 with a flick of his tongue below the spoon — an action I have 

 seen my cat employ in rejecting birds. 



The mongoose then smelt and refused all as before, but 

 smelt very thoroughly and attacked a somewhat incubated, 

 but also somewhat stale. Sandpiper's egg, going on with it 

 with some eagerness once he had started. I removed it very 

 soon, and he then repeated all his refusals, but smelt and 

 readily attacked a somewhat incubated Blackbird's egg ; 



2s2 



