say it has been for ages. Yes, but how many ages? Was the egg always white? 

 Available literature is silent upon this point. The Catalogue of the Birds' Eggs of the 

 British Museum (1902) recording the sixty-nine eggs taken at various points in the 

 Persian Gulf, says only: "The eggs of the Crab Plover are of an oval form, very 

 slightly glossy and plain white. The shell is slightly rough and granulated, and the 

 interior when held up against the light, is of a pale greenish yellow color. They 

 measure from 2.42 to 2.66 in length, and from 1.73 to 1.85 in breadth. They are 

 abnormally large for the size of the bird." No exceptions in color are noted in this, 

 considerable series. Whereas this "most significant egg," under review, is super- 

 ficially and sparingly spotted with brownish red, and deeply and profusely spotted and 

 blotched with lavender shell markings. It is a reversion, an atavism; the missing link 

 between the immaculate egg of the Crab Plover of today and the curlew-like egg of its, 

 say, Miocene ancestor. And inasmuch as the normal egg of Dromas ardeola in itself 

 is the world's most conspicuous exception to apparent phylogenetic rules, the writer 

 claims that this spotted egg, or another like it — I hope there are a dozen such — is 

 the world's most significant egg. 



It is hardly necessary to add, except for the uninitiated, that eggs habitually 

 concealed from the light, as in hollow trees, crannies, and burrows, tend to revert to 

 the unpigmented condition, the color of pure calcium carbonate. The effect of this 

 process is well known in the case of the Puffins and the Rhinoceros Auklet (which is, 

 of course, a Puffin). The whiteness of Puffin eggs is not quite so well established as 

 is that of Crab Plover eggs, and interesting reversions are not altogether rare. But to 

 disregard such exceptions on the ground that they are not normal, would be to miss 

 the very flavor and zest of comparative oology. We are sure that Mr. E. C. Stuart 

 Baker was thinking only of the practical limitations of the private collector when 

 he deprecated attention to abnormalities. 



THE HONORARY BOARD OF FOREIGN ADVISERS. 



Again the suggestion came from across the water, and the more we thought about 

 it the better we liked it. "An Honorary Board of Foreign Advisers"! Capital! And 

 so we set to work at once, inquiring, corresponding, persuading, until the thing began 

 to take shape. We give the partial list below, although three of the gentlemen ap- 

 proached have not had time to give in their acceptance. We venture to submit the 

 list in the present unauthorized shape in order to receive advice as to countries and 

 regions unrepresented. 



In naming a man Honorary Adviser for a given country, it is not at all our 

 thought to ask him to represent the M. C. O. as agent or collector in that country, 

 but only to ask him to stand sponsor for our activities in promoting acquaintance 

 with oologists in his section, and- in securing co-operation. The Adviser also will 

 give us counsel as to the standing of collectors within his purview, and to him we can 

 refer knotty questions of identity or authenticity of material. It is a splendid arrange- 

 ment and we are honored by the gentlemen who have so far agreed to help us: 



Kenneth L. Skinner, Esq., Continental Europe. 



William Mark Pybus, Esq., England. 



J. G. Gordon, Esq., Scotland, and minor British Colonies. 



W. H. Workman, Esq., Ireland. 



Rowland H. Archer, Esq., Australia. 



Henry L. White, Esq., West Australia and Tasmania. 



Colonel E. C. Stuart Baker, India. 



B. A. Fernandes, Esq., Bombay Presidency and the Deccan. 



Jonkheer A. A. van Pelt Lechner, The Netherlands. 



Edward A. Arnold, Esq., Canada. 



Dr. Roberto Dabbene, Argentina. 



M. Nagamichi Kuroda, Japan. 



Rev. Henry S. Caldwell, China. 



We are especially solicitous to secure advisers for Spain, Egypt, the Union of 

 South Africa, Manchuria, Russia, Persia, Palestine, Siam, and New Zealand: and any 

 courtesy extended us in this regard will be deeply appreciated. 



ACCESSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The Director's report, submitted to the Trustees of the M. C. O. on January 19th. 

 1920, covered the period January 1, 1919 to December 31, 1919, inclusive, and reported 

 thirty-five general accessions derived from twenty-one sources. These included the 



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