The bright and conspicuous coloration of many birds’ eggs have often been looked upon as a difficulty on the theory of adaptive coloration. But Wallace thinks that a careful consideration of the subject in all its bearings shows that in a great number of cases these colorations are instances of protective coloration. He further thinks that when we cannot see the meaning of the particular colors, we may suppose that in some ancestral forms they have been protective, and, being harmless, have persisted under changed conditions which rendered the protection needless. He states, in illustrating the protective coloration of eggs, that “the beautiful blue or greenish eggs of the hedge-sparrow, the song-thrush, the blackbird, and the lesser redpole, seem at first sight especially calculated to attract attention; but it is doubtful whether they are really so conspicuous when seen at a little distance among their surroundings. For the nests of these birds are either in evergreens, as holly or ivy, or surrounded by the delicate green tints of the early spring vegetation, and may thus harmonize very well with the colors around them. The great majority of the eggs of our smaller birds are so spotted or streaked with brown or black on variously tinted grounds, that when lying in the shadow of the nests and surrounded by the many colors and tints of bark and moss, of purple buds and tender green or yellow foliage, with all the complex glittering lights and mottled shades produced among these by the spring sunshine and by the sparkling raindrops, they must have a quite different aspect from that which they possess when we observe them away from their natural surroundings.” We have here, probably, according to Wallace, a similar case, of general protective harmony, to that of the green caterpillars with beautiful white or purple bands and spots, which, though gaudily conspicuous when seen alone, become practically invisible among the complex lights and shadows of the foliage they feed upon. Eggs that are not protectively colored are usually white or of some uniform pale color, and are concealed by the birds in covered nests or in holes in trees or in the ground. Many birds lay white eggs in open nests, but even here the devices for concealing them are very effective and interesting. In some cases, such as the partridge, the goat-sucker, and others, the birds have the habit of sitting close and almost continuously on the eggs. These birds are protectively colored. Ducks, pheasants, and other birds have the habit of covering their white eggs with dead leaves or other material when they leave the nest. There are some large and powerful birds that lay conspicuous white eggs in open nests. Such are the cormorants, herons, storks, pelicans, and others. But they guard their nests carefully, and are able to drive away any enemies.