98 BLACKCAP. 



The eggs, usually four or five in number, some- 

 times six, are of a pale greenish or reddish white 

 colour, mottled with light brown and grey, with a few 

 spots and streaks of olive, dusky, and dark brown. 

 Some are mostly pale red or crimson, and marbled 

 with deeper shades of red, or reddish brown; white 

 ones have at times been found. They vary a good 

 deal in size and shape. 



Frederick Stafford, Esq., of De Warren House, 

 Northfleet, Kent, has informed me of his having ob- 

 tained from the county of Norfolk, four eggs of this 

 species of a beautiful salmon-colour, in no way the 

 effect of incubation, as only one egg had been deposited 

 when the nest was first discovered. This pink variety 

 is not very unfrequent. J. A. Drake, Esq. has also 

 forwarded me a good variety. 



One is grounded with yellowish -brown, with a few 

 small spots of black. 



A second is of a greyish white, nearly hidden with 

 blots of light yellowish-green, and a few dark green 

 spots. 



A third is of a greyish pink, with some spots of 

 brownish pink, and some waved streaks and small 

 dashes of the same. 



A fourth is of a greyish white, with blots of yellow- 

 ish brown, and one or two dull waved streaks of a 

 darker shade. 



Both birds sit on the eggs, but the female naturally 

 the most. The male frequently sings while so engaged. 

 The female, when sitting, is occasionally fed by her 

 partner. The young are said to leave the nest rather 

 soon, roosting with their parents on the adjoining 

 boughs. 



