﻿AUG 
  2 
  ? 
  1904 
  

  

  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST 
  

  

  No. 
  758.— 
  August 
  , 
  2004. 
  

  

  ON 
  THE 
  MEASUREMENTS 
  AND 
  WEIGHTS 
  OF 
  THE 
  

   EGGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMONER 
  CHARABRIIDM. 
  

  

  By 
  K. 
  & 
  R, 
  M. 
  Buchanan. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  difficult 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  subject 
  of 
  such 
  general 
  interest 
  

   to 
  ornithologists 
  — 
  and 
  especially 
  to 
  oologists 
  — 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  

   more 
  neglected 
  than 
  the 
  weights 
  of 
  birds' 
  eggs. 
  The 
  reason 
  for 
  

   this 
  is 
  not 
  easy 
  to 
  find, 
  for 
  it 
  is 
  hard 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  trouble 
  

   involved 
  can 
  have 
  deterred 
  a 
  body 
  of 
  men 
  who, 
  whatever 
  their 
  

   faults 
  may 
  be, 
  spare 
  neither 
  time 
  nor 
  labour 
  in 
  the 
  prosecution 
  

   of 
  their 
  favourite 
  study. 
  A 
  more 
  probable 
  explanation 
  is 
  that 
  

   the 
  importance 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  was, 
  until 
  recently,* 
  never 
  fully 
  

   realized 
  ; 
  and 
  that 
  ornithologists, 
  in 
  the 
  past, 
  found 
  ample 
  scope 
  

   for 
  the 
  exercise 
  of 
  their 
  talents 
  in 
  gleaning 
  the 
  vast 
  amount 
  of 
  

   exact 
  information 
  now 
  accumulated. 
  At 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  when 
  

   the 
  number 
  of 
  workers 
  is 
  continually 
  being 
  augmented 
  and 
  

   specialization 
  is 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  the 
  day, 
  it 
  is 
  but 
  natural 
  that 
  

   many 
  subjects, 
  previously 
  overlooked, 
  should 
  be 
  taken 
  up 
  and 
  

   thoroughly 
  investigated. 
  

  

  Considerable 
  importance 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  size 
  

   of 
  birds' 
  eggs, 
  and 
  one 
  has 
  only 
  to 
  consult 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  standard 
  

   works 
  on 
  ornithology 
  to 
  learn 
  how 
  carefully 
  their 
  measurements 
  

   have 
  been 
  ascertained. 
  But 
  a 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  length 
  and 
  

   breadth 
  of 
  an 
  egg 
  enables 
  one 
  to 
  form 
  only 
  an 
  inadequate 
  con- 
  

   ception 
  of 
  its 
  size. 
  This 
  is 
  specially 
  noticeable 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  

   the 
  order 
  under 
  consideration, 
  for 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Limicolce 
  may 
  

  

  * 
  ' 
  Zoologist,' 
  1901, 
  pp. 
  110, 
  111 
  ; 
  ' 
  Irish 
  Naturalist,' 
  November, 
  1901, 
  

   and 
  October, 
  1902. 
  

  

  Zool. 
  4th 
  ser. 
  vol. 
  VIII., 
  August, 
  2904. 
  z 
  

  

  