Rick Willis., age 11, of Canoga Park, Calif., for his question;

Why do some birds lay polka dotted eggs?

The eggs of most of our songbirds are Speckled and freckled with browns and rusty reds. Since they are to be broken open and scrapped after a short while, we wonder why nature goes to the trouble of adorning them so ornately. But there is a reason. The typical nest is placed high under the pale sky among tangled brown twigs and green leaves with their shifting shadows of light and dark.

Eggs of starchy white would be very outstanding in such a background. They would be spotted and grabbed by hungry tree dwellers. There would be no chicks to grow up and hand on life, and this strain of bird would die out. The surviving bird species are those that lay eggs spotted and dotted with colors that blend in with the background of the nests.