A HEN’S EGG 209 
or blue; the Thrush’s bright blue with black spots; the 
Lark’s grey with darker spots ; etc., ete. We have already 
seen that the colour of certain animals is of great import- 
ance in enabling them to escape from enemies. It is the 
same with the eggs of birds. Nests are robbed by rats, 
weasels, and by other birds—not to mention small boys, and 
thus protective colouring is of some importance. To fully 
realise the extent to which colour acts as a protection, the 
eggs must be seen amidst their natural surroundings. A 
Lark’s egg for instance is not an inconspicuous object in 
a cabinet collection ; but place it in the nest or on the 
bare ground and it is found only with much difficulty. 
Protective colouring is very characteristic of the eggs of 
all birds nesting on the ground; white or conspicuously 
coloured eggs are, on the other hand, placed in deep nests, 
hollow trees, or in places not easily reached. The King- 
fisher for instance lays in a hole in the ground, the Owl 
(“ Morepork”) in a hollow tree, and the Pigeon in places 
almost inaccessible. Wild Ducks and Grebes which lay 
more or less in the open—cover up their eggs at the least 
alarm or before leaving the nest. 
XVIIL—A HEN’S EGG. 
INTRODUCTION.—A hen’s egg is really a packet of food to 
supply nourishment to the developing chick, and bears to the 
adult bird a relation somewhat similar to that of a bean seed 
or a maize grain to the adult plant. For the egg contains the 
germ of living matter which gradually develops into the perfect 
bird, just as the seed contains the life-germ which in time grows 
into the plant. And again, just as the seed in its endosperm 
or seed-leaves holds the food supply necessary to nourish the 
plant in its early stages of growth—so does the egg enclose the 
store of food without which the life-germ would be unable to 
develop into the young bird. These remarks apply of course 
to the eggs of all birds. | 
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