EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 71 



entangled. A small hole is left on one side, pretty high up, 

 for ingress and egress, and the inside is lined with feathers, 

 which make it as warm and comfortable, at least to the 

 human understanding, as the outside is compact. The 

 eggs number from seven to ten, and even sixteen or 

 twenty, which are probably the production of more than 

 one bird; white or rosy- white until blown (by reason of 

 the yolk showing through the thin transparent shell), with 

 very small reddish-brown spots round the larger end. 



THE RAZOR-BILL. 



THE Guillemot and Razor-Bill appear to be very much 

 alike in the choice of their position for breeding purposes, 

 and alike only lay one egg each; but that of the latter 

 differs very much from the former in diversity of colour- 

 ing. It is white or buffy-white, spotted and blotched with 

 black, chestnut, or reddish-brown. 



THE SANDWICH TERN. 



Low, sandy islands, such as the Wamses at the Fame and 

 Scilly Isles, and at suitable places on the Scottish and 

 Irish coasts, are the favourite breeding places of this Tern. 

 Sometimes a slight hollow is scratched in the sand or 

 gravel; at others no declivity at all is formed for the 

 nest. Occasionally a few bits of grass are used as a 

 lining. The eggs number two or three, and vary from 

 creamy-white to dark buff in ground colour. They are 

 blotched and spotted with reddish- and blackish-brown and 

 underlying light grey markings. 



