Birds' Eggs 



not belong to the same species as those laying pitted 

 e gg s - Certain birds' eggs are covered with a chalky 

 deposit. 



We are now confronted with the two most important 

 points about birds' eggs, their shapes and their colour. 

 Let us speak first of their shapes. The contour of an 

 egg is almost invariably a certain guide to the group to 

 which the bird who laid it belongs. Thus all the owls lay 

 round eggs, and so do kingfishers ; penguins and nightjars 

 lay oval eggs ; those of plovers and sandpipers are 

 sharply pointed at one end, whilst grebes' eggs are pointed 

 at either end. Why should there be all these different 

 shapes ? Well, we can only give a few instances to show 

 that the shape of an egg is not a mere coincidence, but is 

 carefully designed for a special object. 



Take a hen's egg and try to roll it along a smooth 

 surface. It will roll certainly, but it tends to describe a 

 circle. The hen's egg is slightly more pointed at one end 

 than the other, a fact which accounts for its not rolling 

 straight. The plover's egg is much more pointed than 

 the hen's, and it will not roll in any other manner but in 

 a circle, a fact which serves the parent bird's purpose 

 admirably, for, being laid in a flat, shallow nest on the 

 ground, it is most important that the eggs should not roll 

 away when the sitting bird is suddenly disturbed from 

 her nest. Owls and kingfishers, on the other hand, lay 

 round eggs which will roll easily, but as these birds nest 

 in holes there is no need for any provision to be made 

 against their doing so. 



The most important and most striking characteristic of 

 birds' eggs is their colour. Now these colours are not 

 lavished by Nature for the mere purpose of decoration. 

 Most of Nature's workings, perhaps all of them, serve an 

 end, though it is sometimes difficult to read the book of 

 nature. The colours and markings of eggs, as is the 

 case with birds' plumage, is largely subordinated to the 

 consideration of protection. For our purpose we may 



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