76 
Mr. W. C. Hewitson on Recent Discoveries 
breeding. No bird of the duck kind that has white down, as 
far as I know, places its eggs in an exposed situation. 
The Goosander, Golden Eye, Sheldrake, birds differing much 
from one another, have all white down, and all lay their eggs in 
holes of trees when such are to be found, whilst one of them at 
least has well-coloured eggs. 
Beeston, Nottingham, 
December 20, 1558. 
VIII .—Recent Discoveries in European Oology. 
By William C. Hewitson. 
(Plate II.) 
It is with very great pleasure that I find myself again associated 
with old friends and fellow-labourers in endeavouring to pro¬ 
mote a favourite and delightful study. 
Birds’ eggs, though beautiful objects in themselves, and 
amongst the first of God’s glorious works which gave utterance 
to that burst of joy which has never forsaken some of us 
through life, may be made of the greatest use in ornithological 
study, and would of themselves alone form a foundation towards 
a general arrangement of birds. 
For the eggs of the three species now figured and the notes, 
which accompany them, I am indebted to the Rev. H. B. Tris¬ 
tram. They have been discovered since the completion of the 
third edition of the f Eggs of British Birds,’ and that of the 
Cursorius is a most valuable addition to our oological knowledge. 
I have adopted those specific names for the three species by 
which Mr. G. R. Gray has shown that they were first christened. 
It is quite time that English ornithologists should adopt that 
golden rule in nomenclature, the right of priority, from which 
no naturalist should ever deviate. 
Cuculus glandarius, Linn. Great Spotted Cuckoo. Eggs, 
Plate II. figs. 1, 2. 
The following most interesting account is from the pen of 
Mr. Tristram. It does not quite settle the question as to the 
nesting habits of this bird, and does not exonerate it beyond a 
