ON THE EGGS OF THE TREE-PIPIT. 339 



Shell. — Very fragile, finely grained, displaying more gloss 

 than in the other types. 



Spotted, or Blotched, Type (No. 6) — PurpHsh brown, very 



distinct. 



Ground colour. — Purplish-grey, giving the whole egg a 

 distinctly purplish appearance. The ground colour in this type 

 is very conspicuous and seldom obliterated by the markings. 



Markings. — Similar in arrangement and appearance to 

 types Nos. 4 and 5, except that the markings are more pro- 

 minent and better defined. Normal — Eye-spots and short 

 scroll ings, rich purplish-brown, marginated with paler shades, 

 cloudings pale purple-grey ; shell markings, dark purplish- 

 grey, few. Extreme type — Markings more abundant and 

 richer in colour, ground colour is also darker by several shades. 

 Shell markings almost absent. Modified type — Similar in 

 general appearance, but the ground colour more conspicuous. 

 Markings form zones, or caps ; shell-markings conspicuous 

 (Dresser, pi. 4, No. 24). This type is constant, well fixed, 

 and subject to less variation than No. 4. 



Shape. — Goes through precisely the same variations as in 

 types Nos. 4 and 5. 



Shell. — Thin and fragile, but less so than in types Nos. 

 4 and 5. 

 Spotted, or Blotched, Type (No. 7) — Green ground, distinct. 



Ground colour. — Very conspicuous, and distinctly green- 

 ish, giving the whole egg a green appearance, which separates 

 it from types Nos. 4, 5 and 6. 



Markings. — In appearance similar to types Nos. 4, 5 and 6, 

 but as a rule more evenly distributed and better defined. 

 Normal — Eye-spots and short scrollings, rich umber to sepia- 

 brown, marginated with paler shades, cloudings pale brown ; 

 shell markings pale purplish-brown (Seebohm, pi. 58a, third 

 from right). Extreme type — Eye-spots very dark brown, less 

 marginated than in the normal ; ground colour inclined 

 towards olive-brown ; shell markings almost absent. The 

 markings sometimes form caps and zones, giving the egg a 

 very rich appearance. Modified type — Similar, except that 

 the short scrollings predominate ; ground colour more 

 conspicuous ; shell markings dark grey-brown, few, sometimes 

 quite absent. This type occurs much less frequently than any 

 of the other six types, but is distinct and well fixed. 



Shape. — Similar to that in types Nos. 4, 5 and 6, but there 

 is a tendency towards a smaller size. 



Shell. — ^Very thin and fragile, rather more gloss than in the 

 other types. 



