BIRDS' EGGS 109 



Whilst, in many instances, the colouring matter 

 upon a bird's egg harmonises very wonderfully 

 with the surroundings in which it is placed; in 

 many other cases, the egg stands out bold, and 

 almost lurid. In this latter case, we may refer to 

 the blue eggs of the Hedge Sparrow and the Song 

 Thrush, when seen in the nest. 



If we consider briefly the shape, size, colour, 

 and markings upon a few typical examples of 

 eggs laid by our own birds, we shall find many 

 points that cannot fail to arouse and stimulate 

 interest among both young and old people. 



Whilst the eggs of some kinds of birds, such as 

 the Doves, the Kingfisher, the Wryneck, the 

 Petrels, the Owls, the Woodpeckers, and others, 

 are round in shape and, curious to relate, all 

 white and unspotted, or unmarked, in others the 

 shape varies a good deal. It is interesting to 

 notice, before we pass on, that the eggs of the 

 species mentioned are not only white in colour and 

 round in shape, but that all, more or less, are laid 

 in dark places, and, with the exception of some 

 of the Doves, in unexposed nests. This seems to 

 point, in my mind, to some wonderful law or 

 regulation, whereby those birds which resort to 

 nesting habitats of a hidden description, such as 

 the hole in a bank or a tree, do not have recourse 

 to wasting either time or energy in distributing 

 pigment over the surface of their egg-shells. It 



