286 



ANIMAL DEFENCES 



Fig. 475. Eggs of Ringed Plover {AgUtttti> hiaticula] 



close to the ground and remain motionless on the first note of 

 danger, as is commonly the case. Admirable instances of the kind 

 are afforded by the Ringed Plover (sEgialitis hiaticula) and 



Kentish Plover (sE. Cantiana), 

 both of which lay grey eggs 

 with dark markings among 

 shingle on the sea-shore. In 

 these and their allies eggs and 

 young alike are exceedingly 

 difficult to detect (figs. 475, 

 476). Inspection of an admir- 

 able series of eggs and nests 

 with natural surroundings dis- 

 played in the British Museum 

 (Natural History) at South 

 Kensington will reward anyone 

 inclined to take an interest in 

 the matter. An apparent ex- 

 ception to the rule is afforded 

 by the eggs of Wood- Pigeons, 

 which, although exposed to 

 observation, are white in hue. 

 But it has been pointed out 

 that these are liable to be seen 

 from below through the chinks 

 in the nest, which may be 

 compared to a piece of open 

 basket-work, and are therefore 

 seen against the bright back- 

 ground of the sky. We are 

 reminded here of the light 

 under -surfaces of marine ani- 

 mals, which harmonize with a 

 similar background (p. 283). 

 Turning from Birds to Insects,, we find innumerable instances 

 of all the different stages in the life-history being rendered in- 

 conspicuous by coloration and markings which blend with the 

 immediate surroundings. Speaking of a native moth, Poulton 

 (in his delightful book on The Colours of Animals, from which 

 a number of the illustrations in this part of the subject are taken) 



Fig. 476. Crouching young of Peewit ( Vanellus cristatus] 



