BIRDS. l6l 



in others there is less care, less elaboration, less neat- 

 ness, even amounting to slovenliness and carelessness. 

 And the eggs too differ, not only in size, but also in 

 colour and in ornamentation. The eggs of such 

 birds as the Kestrel, and especially of the Guillemot 

 (a water-bird), vary so much in their markings that 

 two can rarely be found absolutely alike, and yet the 

 general colour and the character of the markings are 

 so decided that there is never any difficulty in deter- 

 mining the bird to which they belong. In our juvenile 

 days we remember that schoolboys in the country 

 were always ambitious to outnumber each other in 

 the birds' eggs collected during a season. For this 

 purpose the shells were threaded upon a string as they 

 were plundered, and in many cottages a long trophy 

 of birds' egg-shells hung suspended from the ceiling. 

 This barbarous practice is now checked, and it is 

 hoped that farmers and gardeners are beginning to 

 learn that small birds are their greatest friends. 



M 



