66 A PATER OX EGGS, 



As examples, may be cited the eggs of Lanius ruftis, Anflim 

 pratensis, and a rbo re us, of the House Sparrow, of St/Ivia frochilus, 

 Linn., common Guillemot, and many others. Eggs with shells, 

 prematurely laid, are, as Mr. Hewitson says, commonly white. 



Many eggs are naturally of a spotless white, as those of the 

 Strigidoe, and some others of the Order Rapaces, some Si/hiadce, 

 JPan'dce, and Fringillidce, most of the Picidce, and CohonlidcB, most 

 Geese, the tame Swan, many Ducks, the Grebes and Cormorants, 

 many Petrels, the Ostrich, and the ordinaiy barn door fowl.-^ 



Others are cream coloured or yellowish, as those of many 

 Palmipedes. 



Some are altogether and uniformly more or less blue such as 

 those of some Turdidce and Sylviadce, Starlings, Herons, and the 

 Ibis. 



Others similarly gi'een, as those of some Ardeidce, and Anafidte, 

 and of the Emu. 



Some have a uniform ground colour of some shade of red as 

 those of some Muscicapidd, the Sylvia Cetti, the Bittern, Tetrao- 

 nidtr, and game fowl, etc. 



The colour of others is a red brown, more or less dark, as in 

 some Tetraonidcr, or dark olive brown, as in case of the Niglitin- 

 gale ; those of the Prinia Stewardi are of a light mahogany red, 

 with a fine polish on them. Those of the Bhyneo'tm rufescens 

 are ash coloured and nearly black, punctated all over, and po- 

 lislied like glass. 



There are also many of various intermediate tints. 



With the exception of the uniformly white, yellow, blue, gi-e.en, 

 and red eggs, all others are freckled, streaked, spotted, blotched, 

 or otherwise marked partially or all over, generally most at the 

 large end, with some shade of red, from tlie palest pink, to a red 

 brown so dark as to appear almost or altogether black. 



Again, if we examine the different layers of wliich the shell 

 consists, we find tliat tliey also differ frequently from each other. 



• I have been inrorBcd that some Common Hens lay eggs covcreil with Kmull red spots. 

 My brother atatcs tli:»t lie hiiH scfu such, ut AaniJal, in riuleiuarltcn, Norway, brouKht 

 to tiilile for brenkf/iNt, and the e.'^'H of Cocliln fowls are oftin similarly six)ttcd. Mr. 

 John Ilancocic lias shown mo four specimens of tl>e CK'gs of barn door fowls and of the 

 Cochin variety whicli are more or le-s opotted with red but lens so than eggt of the Turkey . 



