and Australian finches, build domed or covered nests,
and usually have white eggs.

There are, however, many other birds which lay their white eggs in open
nests; and these afford some very interesting examples of the varied
modes by which concealment may be obtained. All the duck tribe, the
grebes, and the pheasants belong to this class; but these birds all have
the habit of covering their eggs with dead leaves or other material
whenever they leave the nest, so as effectually to conceal them. Other
birds, as the short-eared owl, the goatsucker, the partridge, and some
of the Australian ground pigeons, lay their white or pale eggs on the
bare soil; but in these cases the birds themselves are protectively
coloured, so that, when sitting, they are almost invisible; and they
have the habit of sitting close and almost continuously, thus
effectually concealing their eggs.

Pigeons and doves offer a very curious case of the protection of exposed
eggs. They usually build very slight and loose nests of sticks and
twigs, so open that light can be seen through them from below, while
they are generally well concealed by foliage above. Their eggs are white
and shining; yet it is a difficult matter to discover, from beneath,
whether there are eggs in the nest or not, while they are well hidden by
the thick foliage above. The Australian podargihuge goatsuckers--build
very similar nests, and their white eggs are protected in the same
manner. Some large and powerful birds, as the swans, herons, pelicans,
cormorants, and storks, lay white eggs in open nests; but they keep
careful watch over them, and are able to drive away intruders. On the
whole, then, we see that, while white eggs are conspicuous, and
therefore especially liable to attack by egg-eating animals, they are
concealed from observation in many and various ways. We may, therefore,
assume that, in cases where there seems to be no such concealment, we
are too ignorant of the whole of the conditions to form a correct
judgment.

We now come to the large class of coloured or richly spotted eggs, and
here we have a more difficult task, though many of them decidedly
exhibit protective tints or markings. There are two birds which nest on
sandy shores--the lesser tern and the ringed plover,--and both lay
sand-coloured eggs, the former spotted so as to harmonise with coarse
shingle, the latter minutely speckled like fine sand, which are the
kinds of ground the two birds choose res