Birds' Eggs 



exceptional cases, and such prodigious fecundity only 

 occurs when mishaps overtake the first-laid eggs. In 

 the ordinary case, the partridge, with a complement of 

 about sixteen eggs, will suffice as our example of .a 

 good layer. 



The domestic hen, of course, surpasses even the wryneck, 

 but then it does not live under natural conditions, so must 

 be left out of our reckoning. Here we may fitly add a 

 remark anent one of Nature's laws to which there are few 

 if any exceptions. The number of eggs laid by any bird 

 in a single season is roughly proportional to the chance 

 those eggs have of developing into adult birds. The 

 puffin, as we have said, lays a single egg. This is hidden 

 away in a burrow constructed by the parents, who are well 

 able to take care of themselves and their young. 



The wryneck, though so remarkably prolific, is a rare 

 bird with us; we may conclude, therefore, that the mortality 

 amongst wrynecks is heavy. " Its struggle for life is un- 

 doubtedly a severe one, and its great fecundity most prob- 

 ably saves it from complete extinction." The domestic 

 hen, finding its eggs were removed as soon as they were laid, 

 made persistent efforts to raise some offspring. This 

 happened so frequently in the early days of its domestica- 

 tion that it became a habit, at least man intended it so, 

 but poultry-keepers know, only too well, that the hen is 

 fickle and frequently does not reward its owner in the way 

 it should. 



The surface texture of eggs is the next point to be 

 noticed, and in this again they vary considerably. The 

 majority are matt, shall we say midway between rough 

 and smooth. There are all sorts of variations of surface, 

 from the exceedingly rough shell of the egg of the emu 

 to the very highly glazed product of the tinamou. 

 Between these extremes we have the pitted eggs of the 

 ostrich ; but these eggs are variable amongst themselves ; 

 some are almost smooth, some deeply pitted, and 

 naturalists say that the birds laying smooth eggs do 



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