INCARCERATION OF STRANGE EGGS. 145 



rudely interwoven with flaxen fibres of plants, and 

 lined with cotton of a reddish colour, with some 

 hairs round the inner edges. The egg of the cow- 

 bird having been deposited in this nest, another, 

 of a larger size, three inches and three quarters in 

 external diameter has been built upon it, being 

 formed of the same materials, but with less of the 

 flaxen fibres. The egg is thus surmounted by a 

 layer of three-quarters of an inch thick, and was 

 discovered by opening the lower nest from beneath, 

 It is agglutinated to the lining of the nest, having 

 been addled, and probably burst. In this second 

 nest a cow-bird had also deposited an egg, which 

 was in like manner covered over by a third nest, 

 composed of the same materials, and of nearly the 

 same size as the second." It is to be hoped that 

 after these repeated trials the ingenious bird was 

 allowed to have its nest to itself, and that it per- 

 fected its brood without the encumbrance of an 

 unwelcome stranger. 



Speaking generally, very little is known as to 

 the time when birds deposit their eggs. In the 

 case of small birds it appears to be most frequently 

 at an early hour in the morning. When the period 

 of egg-laying arrives, the bird generally continues 



