22 PRESER VING BIRDS EGGS. 



In the game birds the shells are tolerably stout, colour 

 white, yellow, or brown, marbled and clouded with red- 

 dish or blackish ; surface finely punctured, and much 

 polished, those of pigeons glossy white, having 

 similar characters of surface, but not so strongly de- 

 fined. The eggs of the plover tribe are more or less 

 pear-shaped, colours dull green, brown, or yellow, 

 blotched with brown or black, surface dull, but rather 

 smooth, and finely grained. The eggs of gulls and 

 terns are stronger, more rounded, colours dull red, 

 brown, blue, green, yellowish, or whitish, clouded and 

 spotted, or blotched with dusky, surface rough and 

 unpolished. Of the ducks and geese the shells are 

 strong, more elongate, colours uniform, white, or 

 pale tinted brown, greenish, or reddish-yellow, surface 

 dull, but very finely grained, appearing to be quite 

 smooth. In those of grebes and cormorants there is 

 a greater degree of strength in proportion to size ; 

 more elongate, somewhat pointed at both ends, colour 

 bluish-green, with a thick outer chalky covering, like 

 those of hawks, but not coloured. The diver's eggs 

 are stout, elongate, approaching the pear-shaped, dark 

 rich brown, blotched with black, surface wrinkled like 

 thoso of the crow tribe. Those of the guillemots are 

 very strong, generally pear-shaped, and elongate, 

 colour white, blue, or green, blotched and striped with 

 black and ash colour, surface -granular. Lastly, those 

 of petrels are thin, roundish-oval, white, or faintly zoned 

 with pale red, surface dull, but finely grained. 



To preserve the shells of eggs, first take care to clear 

 them of their contents ; get a small, fine-pointed com- 

 mon syringe, such as is sold in toy- shops for a penny 

 or twopence, and inject the specimen with water until 

 it comes out quite clean. "When an egg has been 

 partly hatched or addled, the removal of the contents 

 generally includes that of the internal membrane or 



