58 THE PIED FLYCATCHER 



Whilst on my way down I chanced to look at 

 the hole next below the one I had been at work 

 on, and to my astonishment beheld three blue 

 eggs reposing inside. Had these eggs been 

 there all along I could hardly have missed 

 seeing them when passing up and down the 

 tree. Now, as the pied flycatcher was dis- 

 tinctly a rare bird in these parts and, for 

 that matter, nowhere common, I could only 

 conclude that the pair had moved, or were 

 in the act of moving their eggs to a place 

 of safety. This discovery so impressed me 

 that I decided, then and there, not to interfere 

 further with the birds or their treasures, so 

 returned home with my one specimen. But 

 this egg was to prove (at all events to me) a 

 revelation in Natural History. It was an 

 addled egg, and my firm belief is that the birds 

 left it because it was addled and therefore, 

 from nature's point of view, of no account. 



It may appear more extraordinary that a 

 bird should know a bad egg which shows no 

 signs exteriorly, than to identify one by its 

 particular markings. But this, in my opinion, 

 is just the point which marks the difference 

 between the reasoning and the instinctive 

 mind. The reasoning mind acts on impres- 

 sions from without ; the instinctive or sub- 

 conscious mind, sees from within. 



