oe 
54 BRITISH BIRDS. [voL. XE. 
Note on the Egg of the Hobby.—The eggs of the Hobby 
which we have seen, only from nests which have been 
thoroughly authenticated by the observation of the birds at 
the nest, appear to be quite distinct from eggs of the Kestrel. 
From a large series of Kestrels’ eggs in our collection there 
is not one which could be mistaken for a Hobby’s egg. 
Contrary to the opinions expressed in most works on British 
birds’ eggs, we have found that the eggs of the Hobby are 
invariably larger than Kestrel’s eggs.* They are also generally 
more elongated, and not so round. Both in the manner of 
their markings and their shape they resemble more closely 
the common types of Merlin’s eggs, but are considerably 
larger. We have not personally found the blotched type 
in Hobby’s eggs, but all the eggs we have seen have been 
minutely freckled or dusted all over with brownish-yellow, 
reddish-brown or light brick-red markings, entirely obscuring 
the ground colour. Some irregular spots of a darker shade 
of colour and some washes of colour appear, as in eggs of the 
Peregrine Falcon, and a preponderance of markings is often 
observable either at the larger or smaller end of the eggs. 
* This agrees with the measurements given by Seebohm, D 
Rey and others.—Eps. = y a ee 
