THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 193^ 



brilliant colours in eggs which are fully exposed to view in a 

 shallow nest. Though his explanation of white eggs of the 

 pigeon family — viz., that as the nest is composed of twigs very 

 slightly put together, the white eggs are less likely to be seen 

 from below, ma}' possibly account for this exception ta 

 the general rule — I would point out that even this is 

 doubtful, for, as Mr. Lucas himself observes, other birds ar& 

 by no means least amongst the list of egg-robbers, and these 

 would, of course, have the benefit of a " bird's-eye view " of the 

 situation. With regard to the theory of eggs in cup-shaped 

 nests, being coloured for the sake of protection, I may point 

 out that the nest itself is, in some cases, at least a most con- 

 spicuous object. Such is that of the white-winged corcorax,, 

 whose nest is a huge mud structure, which can be seen at a dis- 

 tance of at least a hundred yards ; whereas in others the 

 colouring is by no means protective. The white ground colour 

 of the egg of the shrike-thrush, even though it be broken up 

 with dark spots, can hardly be said to be protective when it 

 is laid in a nest of dead sticks. The flesh-coloured egg of 

 the two miners (Af. garnda zx\^ flavigula) are both laid in twig 

 nests, whilst those of the other members of the honey-eater 

 family (which, as stated, contained a large amount of red and 

 yellow colouring), are laid amongst the green leaves ; whereas 

 those of the yellow and dusky robins (which are green) are laid 

 in a nest placed in the thick upright forks of ti-tree or gum- 

 sapling amongst the dead underwood. Those of the Cinclo- 

 ramphi, which are laid on the ground, are of a pinkish tinge, 

 with pinkish-red and purplish spots ; this could hardly be 

 termed a protective colour. The eggs of the crows, magpies, 

 crow-shrikes, and Graucalus are enumerated by Mr. Lucas as~ 

 being protectively coloured. Now, considering that the three 

 former are the very birds who steal their neighbours' belongings, 

 I fail to see that protection is in this case necessary (the nests 

 being quite out of reach of lizards and snakes, and native cats only 

 appearing at night, when the colour cannot be distinguished),, 

 whilst the Graiicahcs places its eggs on a horizontal fork, so that 

 the greenish tint usually met can hardly be protective, though 

 the wood-brown sometimes, though more rarely found, may be 

 so. 



For the above reasons I think we must look elsewhere for the 

 cause of colouration where it appears, and of the absence of 

 colour in other eggs. This, I think, will be found to be the 

 exceedingly simple one of love of beauty. The bright 

 plumage of birds, together with their musical notes, prove them 

 to have a love for the beautiful perhaps unequalled in the 

 animal kingdom. This fact does not appear to have influenced 

 Mr. Lucas in his decision as to the appearance of colour, and 

 his suggestion that bright colours have a deterrent effect on the 



