INTRODUCTION. 
• • • 
Vlll 
That the varied and beautiful hues which adorn the eggs of 
birds, are given them by the God of nature, as a protection 
from discovery and destruction, by resembling the various sui- 
faces upon which they are deposited (as stated by M. Glogei, 
a German naturalist), when taken as a general rule, I am by 
no means ready to admit. On the other hand, I am prepared 
to show, that such precautions would be for the most part un¬ 
necessary and superfluous. 
By far the most numerous class of birds are those which 
build in trees or bushes, and at an elevation from the ground; 
and the nest—which then forms the object of search and de¬ 
tection—being once discovered, further precaution to conceal 
the eggs would be of no avail : and on this account we find 
such an instinctive anxiety amongst the feathered race to con¬ 
ceal and protect the homes of their future offspring. I could 
quote a number of instances, any of which are sufficient to 
excite our wonder and admiration. Who has ever discovered 
the nest of the Common Wren, concealed and buried as it is 
amongst the same material of which it is itself constructed, 
without a feeling of pleasure and surprise 1 I have frequently 
seen it let into the hollow of some moss-clad stump, or so 
nicely woven into the side of a clover stack, when, had it not 
been for the small round hole of entrance, discovery would have 
been perfectly evaded. 
The nest of the Chaffinch is little less worthy of remark ; 
built upon the branch of some tree clothed with lichens, it is 
covered with the same material. Those birds which, from the 
large size of their nests, are prevented from thus concealing 
them, have recourse to other means of protection. The Hawk, 
the Crow, and the Magpie, place theirs in places difficult of 
access; the nest of the latter being defended besides by a roof 
of thorns, which is not easily penetrated. 
That there are several instances in which the eggs of birds 
are admirably adapted to, and closely resemble in colour, the 
ground upon which they are deposited, [ have frequently found, 
much to my annoyance, when in search of them; and these are 
