280 THE STORY OF THE BIRDS 



taking an egg ot a Guillemot, say, and gently 

 scraping the surface over one of these indis- 

 tinct underlying markings, when it will gradually 

 assume the same intensity of hue as the super- 

 imposed blotches or spots. The varying degree 

 of intensity of these underlying spots depends, 

 of course, upon the amount of shell deposit 

 over them. In some eggs they are just below 

 the surface ; in others they are faint and indis- 

 tinct, with a thick coating above them ; whilst 

 in not a few eggs we may find them both pale 

 and distinct. In some eggs these markings pre- 

 dominate, but the rule seems to be for the 

 surface spots to be most numerous. The cir- 

 cular spots must therefore, on the above 

 supposition, be deposited when the egg is at 

 rest ; whilst the pigment must dry very rapidly, 

 or we should not see that delicate tracery that 

 is so characteristic of the eggs of Buntings and 

 various other species. Generally speaking, the 

 markings are most abundant on and towards 

 the blunt pole, or larger end of the egg, which, 

 we should say, is always protruded first. This 

 position, however, is sometimes accidentally 

 reversed, as seems proved by the fact that 

 occasionally the colouring matter is almost 

 entirely collected upon the smaller end of the 



