Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-03-21
FUNNY EGGS THAT BIRDS LAY.
Some OF Them Are Very Curious Indsed-A
Few nstrOsities.


Among the queerest birds eggs in the
| world are those of the tinamous OF
South America. which are distantly re
| lated to our own domestic fowls, sale
Ornithologist Ridgway, of the Smith
sonian Institution. Their most striking
popularity is that the shell is mos,
| beautifully polished and often very
brightly colored. One species lays ar
egg of a deep stone color and of pol
ish so brilliant that it looks as if made
artificially out of fne-grained rock
Other species have eggs that are pink OF
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 mylarchus, of which the common
gray-crested fycatcher is a representa-
| tive. Their eggs have adelicate buff ol
cream-colored ground varied by
splashes of lavender and other soft nat
ural tints. The most remarkable point
about them, however, is that the whole
surface is marked with fine lines run.
ming lengthwise from end to end and
looking exactly as if they were made
with pen and ink.
The eggs of some orioles and black.
birds are also very strangely marked;
the markings often resembling in q
very striking way Chinese characters
and other grotesque figures Cuckoos
of the genus crotophaga lay eggs which
appear at the first glance to be of a uni
form dull white. but on close eXamina-
ton it is found that this is merely 9
challSy coating over the surface. When
the coating is removed, which is easily
accomplished by gentle scraping with a
Y'cnl1nife, the shell is discovered to be
of a very deep blue.
In South America there is a cuckoo
that lays similar egg, but the challsy
coat instead Of being spread over the
surface is arranged in the form of a net
work, the blue showing in the spaces
between the lines, SO that the effect is
as if the shell We're 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 delicate
pinl>ish bloom, which softcns and rem
ders more beautiful the bold markings
on the shell. But the touch of finger
destroys this bloom entirely, owing to
the moisture of the skin. A drop Of
water will have the same effect Eggs
u
always of 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 a delicate buff or
cream ground, exquisitely relieved by
an encircling band of reddish brown or
lavender spots.
The most valuable egg in the world
is that of the extinct great aux, a speci-
men of which was sold the other day
for $1,000. OF all known eggs the big
gest is that of the extinct giant ostrich
of Madagascar, supposed to bc the
original of the mythical roc. Semi
fossil specimens of it were recently
used by the natives of that country as
vessels for holding or carrying water.
One of them will hold more than two
gallons, its bulk being equal to las
hens eggs or six ostrich eggs. There
is a cast of 4 giant ostrich egg in the
collection here, alongside of another
taken from the next biggest egg ever
known. which was laid by the giant
moa of New Zealand, a bird which
weighed 1000 pounds. The original Of
the latter was found in digging 4 we'll.
Speaking of enormous eggs reminds
me that monstrosities in that line are
not uncommon. A great many NAL.
formed eggs. particularly those of hens,
are sent from various parts of the coun-
trv to the Smithsonian. Most common
among them are eggs shaped like crook
necked sGuashes. with necls curved so
as to resemb+>d jug handles. We have
in our collection several eggs each of
which contains a smaller egg complete,
shell and all, within it. In short, the
is precisely that of one
egg being formed inside of an
other. Double yell>ed 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
the extra legs being small
and functionless. sticking out behind
them as they walk.
1t 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 regarded as fit
for food, as the gulls and various
species of the aux tribe, lay eggs of ex-
cellent quality for eating purposes. l
was once with party at Pyramid
Lake. New, when for an entire month
we ate nothing but sea gulls' eggs. AL
though the lake is so far inland, not
less than 1000 pairs of these birds were
breeding on an island in the middle, and
Eggs were so plentiful that we used to
rather boat load at n time. We all
thought them superior to hens eggs
The island was fairly covered with
birds of different kinds, each sort keep
ng by itself. In one spot there was q
,olony of Pclicans, in another colony
# blue herons. and so on, the intcrven-
ng spaces being inhabited chiefly by
of which we killed sixty |
he first day without hunting for them. |
Washington Star.
The Difference in Opa1s.
The varieties of opal are distinguished |
according to their color and other phys |
cal properties. Precious or noble opal, |
ike the Washington, is generally white |
r colorless and exhibits a rich play of |
l.