THEIR REPRODUCTION (EGGS) 293 



be the similarity of the eggs. But that this is not 

 always the case is proved by such great diver- 

 gencies as are presented in the eggs of the Song 

 Thrush and the Redwing, the Swallow and the 

 Martin, the Goshawk and the Sparrow-hawk, 

 the Little Bittern and the Common Bittern, and 

 so forth. On the other hand the peculiar char- 

 acteristics of the eggs in such groups as the 

 Crows, the Sandpipers and Snipes, the Birds of 

 Prey, the Pigeons, the Owls, the Petrels, and 

 Tinamous, are so sufficiently pronounced that 

 any experienced collector can readily distinguish 

 them at a glance. The eggs in the various 

 genera of Warblers are most significantly char- 

 acteristic and readily assignable. In the Willow 

 Warblers we have white eggs spotted with red ; 

 in the Tree Warblers the eggs are salmon 

 coloured, spotted with brown ; in the Grass- 

 hopper Warblers the finely powdered markings 

 of brown, and their general pinky appearance, 

 readily serve to distinguish them; in the Reed 

 Warblers greens and olive browns are the pre- 

 dominant colours. 



We have, however, much variation in some 

 cases even in the same species. What, for in- 

 stance, could be more astonishing in this direc- 

 tion than the extraordinary variety in the eggs 



