86 BIRDS' EGGS 



It is, however, a common error to suppose 

 that a proper knowledge of eggs can be 

 acquired apart from a knowledge of the birds 

 themselves. One ought first to learn to know 

 the parent birds, their habits, and their nest- 

 ing-places, and then to collect their eggs, if 

 one wishes to do so. In many instances it is 

 almost impossible to be sure as to the par- 

 ticular bird which has built a particular nest, 

 unless we can identify the bird. Any account 

 of the parent birds would extend this chapter 

 beyond its assigned limits, and I must, there- 

 fore, refer those, who wish to gain information 

 respecting them, to Mr. Howard Saunders' 

 Illustrated Manual of British Birds (2 Is.), or 

 another of the many excellent books on 

 birds. 



The first, nest of the season, and the first 

 which any one finds for himself, is usually that 

 of the Song Thrush or Mavis (Turdus musicus). 

 It builds in a thick bush, and often before the 

 leaves have appeared. The nest is composed 

 of grass and moss, plastered with mud, and 

 contains from four to six light greenish-blue 

 eggs, marked with a few large dark spots 

 (Plate VI., Fig. 1). 



