150 



THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



"With regard to the number of eggs produced 

 by different kinds of birds, no systematic account, 

 with which we are acquainted, has as yet appeared* 

 Yet it is well known to ornithologists, that the 

 number of eggs in different orders, families, and 

 species of birds, while almost constant for each, 

 differs considerably between one order and an- 

 other, and between the various families and 

 species of each order. The following account of 

 the numbers of eggs in different orders of British 

 birds may be taken as an imperfect approach to 

 a representation of the average numbers of eggs 

 for each family : 



* Exception, Gold-crested Wren, 11. 



