240 Animal Life 
The eggs of most of the Hawks so exactly resemble the lining of the nest that 
I have actually looked into the nest of one of this tmbe (the Kestrel Hawk) from a 
neighbouring bough, and did not detect the presence of six eggs which were discovered 
upon nearer inspection. 
Eges of those birds which lay early in the year are usually tinted and spotted 
with delicate shades of blue, green, or a combination of these hues, a fact that renders 
them difficult to discover by enemies from above, as their pale shades mingle admurably 
with the pale greens of young vegetation. The Thrush, Blackbird, Hedge-Sparrow and 
Rook are illustrations of this type of coloration. 
Most of the Finches, Flycatchers, and Warblers build nests that are in themselves 
protective to the eggs; eg., the Spotted Flycatcher and Chaftinch so bedeck the outside 
of their nests with lichens, etc., as to be hardly distinguishable from the bark of the 
tree or hedge in which they are situated. As an illustration of the protection afforded 
by the nest, I once found a chaffinch’s nest, containing five young birds, built on a 
rather exposed branch of a tree that was also tenanted by Kestrel Hawks with a 
prosperous family of four, while there were no other nests anywhere in the vicinity. 
Among the finches, the eggs usually match the lining of the nest, but as the nest 
in this class of bird is always more or less hidden among dense herbage, deviations 
from this rule are frequent. 
The whole army of warblers lay eggs that correspond with their surroundings, 
and the protective colouring of those of the Nightingale is so effectual that they are 
seldom destroyed, although from the position of the nest one would expect weasels, 
rats, and mice to work sad havoc among the progeny of this beautiful songster. 
The eggs of the Cuckoo are usually so remarkably like those in the nest in 
which the bird chooses to deposit them that they even escape detection by the 
unfortunate foster parents. 
Perhaps the most beautiful ilustration of the protective coloration of eggs is 
furnished by those species that build or lay upon the ground. Naturally great variety is 
present among the eggs of these “ground-builders.” Thus, the eggs of the Nightjar, 
Corn-Bunting, and Yellowhammer are so spotted and streaked as to resemble pebbles, 
and many a fruitless search have I had for the eggs 
of the latter where I had good reason to believe they 
existed. 
The eges of the Pheasant, Partridge, Grouse, Lap- 
wing, Snipe, Quail, Skylark, Meadow-Pippet, ete., etc., 
harmonise perfectly with their surroundings. 
The plumage of some of these birds is of such 
a protective nature that the parent will only leave 
the nest in time of very great danger, and is often 
then passed over as a bunch of dried leaves might 
have been. 
The eggs of the Grebes, rather inconveniently, are 
pure white. But in this case, when danger threatens 
to overtake them, the parent covers them up with the 
leaves and rushes of which the nest is composed; this 
feat having been accomplished, the old bird quietly dives 
away from the nest, which looks like an innocent heap 
of dried rushes. When the eggs are a few days old 
they become so stained with the decaying vegetation, 
among which they are deposited, that they assume the 
GUILLIMOT. same tint, and are then frequently left uncovered. 
