,8 



admirably. Were I to mention those })ir(ls, the eggs of which 

 do not bear any resemblance to the surface on which they are 

 deposited, I should have to enumerate much the greater por- 

 tion of our British Birds. Who will say that there is any 

 resemblance whatever in colour, between the clear blue eggs 

 of the Thrush, and the mud-lined interior of its nest ? Neither 

 do the bright blue eggs of the Hedge Sparrow bear much 

 more resemblance to the nest. What likeness do the eggs of 

 the Swans, the Geese, the Harriers, and the numerous species 

 of Ducks, (all white, or nearly so) bear to the ground upon 

 which they are placed ? and why, if their colours are intended 

 for their concealment, are eggs so entirely different in that 

 respect, placed in situations perfectly alike ? 



It may be asked, for what purpose then arc these beautiful 

 colours lavished so abundantly ? For the same purpose for 

 which they adorn the plumes of the Humming-bird, or the 

 wing of the resplendent butterfly — to gladden our eyes, " To 

 minister doliglit to man, to beautify the earth." And thus it 

 is that the eggs of nearly all those birds (the Owl, Kingfisher, 

 Bee-cater, Holler, Nuthatch, and the Woodpeckers,) which 

 conceal them in holes, are white, because in such situations 

 colour would bo displayed to no purpose. 



Tlie number of eggs laid by various tribes of birds, as well 

 as the different genera of the same family, vary much. The 

 more typical species of these are, however, for the most part 

 nearly alike in this respect. In every instance we shall find 

 the same beneficent influence acting for our welfare ; increas- 

 ing rapidly, by the number of their eggs, those species which 

 are of the greatest use to us, and bestowing upon those 



