Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17

Some of Them Are Very Curious Indeed-A
Few Monstrosities.

Few Monstrosities.
s. MONG THE QUEEREST birds eggs in
1.-the world are those of the tinamous of
South America, which are Instantly related to
our own domestic fowls" said Ornithologist
Ridgway Of the Smithsonian Institution to .
STAR reporter. Their most striking peculiar
ity is that the shell is most beautifully polished
and often very brightly colored One species
lays an egg of deep stone color and Of polish
SO brilliant that it looks as if made artifcially
out Of fne-grained rock. Other species have
eggs that are pink, or blue, or green in many
different shades.
among the North American birds eggs
perhaps the most curiously marked are those
Of the fycatchers, Of the genus myiarchus, Of
which the common gray-crested fycatcher is q
representative type. Their eggs have q del
icate buff or cream-colored ground varied by
splashes of lavender and other soft neutral
tints. The most remarkable point about them,
however, is that the whole surface is marked
with fine lines running lengthwise from end to
end and looking exactly as if they were made
with pen and ink.
STRANGELY MARKED.
''The eggs Of some orioles and blackbirds are
also very strangely marked; the markings often
resembling in very striking way Chinese
characters and other grotesque figures. Cuckoos
at the first glance to be Of q uniform dull white,
but on close examination it IL found that this
is merely a chalky coating over the surface.
When the coating 10 removed, which is easily
accomplished by gentle scraping with a PEN
knife, the shell 10 discovered to be Of very
deep blue.
''1n South America there is q cuckoo that
lays similar egg, but the chalky coat instead
of being spread uniformly over the surface is
arranged in the form Of network, the blue
al H. Ix
that the effect is as if the shell were covered
with fine white net. As may be imagined, it
is very beautiful.
The egg of the California partridge and Of
its Arizona relation, the gambels partridge. is
covered with a delicate pinkish bloom. which
softens and renders more beautiful the bold
markings on the shell. But the touch of q
finger destroys this bloom entirely, owing to
the moisture Of the skin. A drop OF water will
have the same effect. Eggs Of woodpeckers
and kingfshers are always o; the purest white,
and SO highly polished as to resemble the finest
porcelain. Very beautiful also are the eggs Of
certain small fycatchers, such as the wood
peewee of the United States, which have q
delicate buff or cream ground, exquisitely re-
lieved by an encircling band of reddish brown
or lavender spots.
THE MOST VALUABLE EGG IN THE WORLD
is that of the extinct great aux, q specimen Of
which was sold the other day for s1,5O0. OF
all known eggs the biggest is that Of the extinct
giant ostrich OF Madagascar, supposed TO be the
original Of the mythical roc. Semi fossil
specimens OF it were recently used by the ma
tlves OF that country as vessels for holding or
carrying water. One Of them will hold more
than two gallons its bulk being equal to l4s hens
eggs or six ostrich eggs. There is q cast Of q
giant ostrich egg in the collection here, along
side Of another taken from the next biggest
egg ever known, which was laid by the giant
moa of New Zealand, bird which weighed
200 pounds. The original Of the latter was
found in digging a we'll.
speaking of enormous eggs reminds me that
monstrosities in that line are not uncommon.
great many uniformed eggs, particularly
those OF hens, are sent from various parts of
the country to the Smithsonian Most COM
mon among them are eggs shaped like crook
necked squashes, with necks curved 80 as to
resemble jug handles. We have in our collec-
ton several eggs each Of which contains a
smaller egg complete, shell and all, within it.
In short, the phenomenon is precisely that OF
one egg being formed inside Of another.
Double yelked eggs are very common, and
when Matched they are very apt to bring into
the world four-legged chickens. Often these
chickens live and get along very comfortably,
the extra legs being small and functionless,
sticking out behind them - they walk.
Zoos OF DUCKS AND GEESE.
at seems curious that the eggs Of ducks and
geese, themselves so good to eat, should be
rank and not very edible. On the other hand
certain sea birds, which are not usually re-
garded as fit for food. as the gulls and various
species Of the aux tribe, lay eggs Of excellent
quality for eating purposes. was once with q
party at Pyramid lake, Nevada, when for an
entire month We ate nothing but sea gulls
eggs. Although the lake is 80 far inland NO,
less than one thousand pairs of these birds
were breeding on an island in the middle and
eggs were so plentiful that We used to gather Q
boat load at q time We all thought them So
Perior TO hens eggs. The island was fairly
covered with birds OF different kinds, esch sor
keeping by itself. In one spot there was
colony Of pelicans, in another colony of blue
herons, and SO on, the intervening spaces be
ing occupied chiefly by rattlesnakes, Of which
We killed sixty the first day without hunting
for them"