2 BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 



and understandings and capacities lias not left some of His 

 creatures imperfect in some of their qualifications and endow- 

 ments, but that the very contrasts and unlikenesses which first 

 set him on questioning at all, all teach one great lesson and 

 illustrate one great truth, namely this, " Lord, how manifold 

 are Thy works ! In wisdom hast Thou made them all." 



Perhaps an Egg-book might be so written as to help such 

 thought and obseryation PS is here supposed, and now and then 

 besides to suggest- ^explanations or lead to investigation or 

 communicate a Icncwiedge of facts such as to illustrate and 

 IT air e dear, and evep entertaining or amusing, the every day 

 /ncideiits j and facts ft'hich 'fall commonly enough beneath the 

 notice o the ra<Sd4rafc4lV ^top-eyed and observant nest-hunter. 



The difficulty of making such a book useful to the systematic 

 collector of eggs, however young, is not nearly as great as that 

 of making it interesting to the many, who, though not inspired 

 with the ambition of owning a real grand cabinet, and of 

 arranging its manifold drawers with neatly ordered and ticketed 

 egg-cards, are yet sensible of a real pleasure and enjoyment in 

 noticing the nests and eggs of their numerous "feathered 

 friends," an<J identifying such as may chance to be less familiarly 

 known than the majority of those met with under ordinary 

 circumstances. Eaithful description and accurate representation 

 are clearly within our reach, and such description and representa- 

 tion are sufficient in nineteen cases out of twenty for the purposes 

 of identification in all instances of usual occurrence. 



The cases in which identification is difficult are of two or 

 three kinds. Sometimes the difficulty arises from the near 

 resemblance of the eggs laid by different allied species, sometimes 

 from the wide discrepancies in the markings and especially in 

 the shadings or tints of eggs laid by ,the same species ; but much 

 more frequently from the doubtful eggs being met with apart 

 from the containing nests, or from want of proper or sufficiently 

 accurate observation of the nests at the moment of discovery. 

 The young egg-fancier should always recollect that the fashion 

 and materials and site of the nest taken in connection with the 

 eggs will almost always, with the aid of a tolerably accurate 

 ana well illustrated Book of Eggs, enable him to decide without 

 hesitation as to the real owner of the nests and eggs in question ; 

 while there are very many eggs, such as the Common Wren's, 

 those of one or more of the Tom-tits, the Lesser Willow-wren 

 &c., of which specimens may )>e found so nearly resembling one 

 another in shade and size and spots, that it requires a very nice 

 and experienced eye to jjlloi the several eggs to their certain 

 origin. In such a case as this, recourse must be had to some 

 kind and experienced Oologisf. 



