many as fourteen, though nine is an average clutch. They are pale huff very 

 nearly white in ground colour, spotted pretty evenly all over with small very 

 dark broun >pecks varying from the size of a pin's head to tiny dots, and in 

 some cases there are a few greyish undermarkings. They differ very con- 

 siderably in size even in the same clutch, and vary in length from 2'2 to 2 - o 

 inches, and in breadth from 1*5 to ri inches. They are quite unlike the eggs 

 of any other British bird. 



Young in down are black, some of the filaments on the head and neck 

 being tipped with white and red, the tip of the bill is bluish white with a black 

 spot on the point, the base of the bill is scarlet shading into orange on the 

 face, and there is a bluish stripe above each eye extending to the ear. 





43 



