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pose of ejecting the undigested parts of 
their food, and there appears to be no 
doubt, that this substance is afterwards 
dried by the heat of their bodies, as they 
have frequently been known to continue 
in the hole for a considerable time, and 
this, long before there have been eggs. 
On this disgorged matter the female lays 
from five to seven eggs, of a beautiful 
transparent white, and of a short oval 
form. 
Before the young are able to leave the 
hole, it becomes extremely fetid by the 
faeces of the brood, which being of a 
watery nature, cannot be carried away by 
the parent birds, as is common with most 
of the smaller species. In defect of 
which, instinct has taught them to have 
the entrance to their habitation ascending, 
by which means the filthy matter runs off, 
and may frequently be seen on the outside. 
This we suppose was the occasion of the 
error propogated by some authors, namely, 
"that the female plasters the interior of 
her habitation with her excrements, which 
hardens as soon as exposed to the air, and 
