. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. 238 Animal Life The Swift, building in holes of old masonry, lays a chalk-white egg; the House-Martin, building a nest encased with mud and having one small hole for entrance and exit, lays a white egg; while its cousin the Swallow, building a less protected nest, lays eggs more or less spotted with blackish-purple and shades of red, which harmonise well with the feathers composing the lining of the nest. The eggs of the House-Sparrow so exactly resemble the lining-feathers of the nest that, should an unbidden guest visit it
. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. 238 Animal Life The Swift, building in holes of old masonry, lays a chalk-white egg; the House-Martin, building a nest encased with mud and having one small hole for entrance and exit, lays a white egg; while its cousin the Swallow, building a less protected nest, lays eggs more or less spotted with blackish-purple and shades of red, which harmonise well with the feathers composing the lining of the nest. The eggs of the House-Sparrow so exactly resemble the lining-feathers of the nest that, should an unbidden guest visit it and tear a portion of the structure away, the eggs would not easily be discovered. It may occur to the reader that it is strange the eggs of pigeons should be white, although some of these birds build in exposed trees. The explanation of this is as follows : Possibly the original pigeons all built in holes in trees and rocks, number of species do now. Thus originated from such ancestors; of the tribe usually produced their (as they do now), there was no coloured, since the fully-developed a more effectual means of con- the nest in such a way as to above at various points, it is presence of white eggs reason why the eggs those of the first duced white eggs in habit of frequenting would serve no practical Most of the Crow the spring or early predominant shades of well with their young- thus escape discovery from which danger The Jackdaw usually builds and as there is now little need to were in all probability at one time of its eggs, they have lost most rather sparsely spotted, or rather while the ground-colour, though often quite white, or only very The Starling, which has siderable time, lays a nearly white The eggs of the Jay, which among the branches of woodland their TURTLE-DOVE. CORN CRAKE. QUAIL. the species that build in trees have and, as the first arboreal members eggs rather late in the season need for them to be protectively leaves of the trees above f
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