39 replies to this topic

[luv2bird]

Hello birders,

I wanted to start this thread to stimulate discussion, allow the exchange of information about bird eggs, nests, and how to identify them. Please display our own photos, or if you post someone else's photo other than your own please attribute the source. Hopefully through sharing when we come upon a nest w/ eggs we may be better prepared to ID them in the field from what we've learned here. Thank you everyone. 

Killdeer eggs in ground nest at roadside. Photo Spring 2009 Tulare County

 

[KingstonOntarioBirder]

Canada Goose

[birdseye]

I don't know what this is...do you?..iowa, on a beach  by a lake

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[luv2bird]

Hi birdseye,

Maybe you can photograph the egg you found next to a large-size chicken egg so we can use them both for comparison. And I guess I'm dumb but where on the lake did you find it? Was it on the baech like close to where a turtle would bury it or near a bush like cattails, or do you think a predator just left in the open?

[birdseye]

Luv2bird -- unfortunately, i took this several years ago, and didn't think to measure it then... My Wife remembers it to have been about 1 1/2 to 2 " long. ..She is usually right..It was on a river sand (oxbow lake)  beach, maybe 10 feet from shoulder high grass. The Shell had been broken out, the fluid inside had leaked out, and formed a shelf of sand beneath it. You can see the interior membrane appears to be intact inside... there were a large variety of shorebirds, red winged black birds and such that were in that area all the time. That is all i can tell you...hope it helps. thanks

[zoutedrop]

If you have the same table top you can still do the comparison.  Photograph a chicken egg and a tape measure on the same pattern (tape measure offsets the various size eggs you can buy).

Here is an unusual picture as dove nests usually have only two eggs (mourning).

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[zoutedrop]

Abert's Towhee eggs.  I keep looking for these nests as they are a victim of brown-headed cowbirds to the point that there is concern.

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[mud236]

Mallard.

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[susanwinfl]

Thanks for the thread Luv2! Here is a black-necked stilt and her eggs. (Before everyone gets upset, I was not the one who disturbed her).

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[natureboy]

Did you know:

when a hen lays an egg that is mottled (or speckled) the shell itself is not colored.  the speckles are somehow deposited onto the eggs just before its layed.  if one was to handle a speckled eggs just after its layed, the specks will smear.  does someone have a more scientific explanation for this?  i have been trying to research this and can't find anything on it.

[luv2bird]

natureboy:

Did you know:

when a hen lays an egg that is mottled (or speckled) the shell itself is not colored.  the speckles are somehow deposited onto the eggs just before its layed.  if one was to handle a speckled eggs just after its layed, the specks will smear.  does someone have a more scientific explanation for this?  i have been trying to research this and can't find anything on it.

Click here to Read about egg strength theory

[zoutedrop]

Curve-billed thrasher eggs. These are great birds and very photogenic with their bright eyes and curved bill. Nest was just 10 feet from my neighbor's back door. Two youngsters were successfully raised.

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[zoutedrop]

About 10 days ago I watched a female Great-tailed Grackle fly into a tree with a long piece of grass. With only two eggs found I may have been early as they normally lay between 3-5 eggs. This is also the second nest of the season which may also have an impact.
If you are interested in a detailed grackle study:
http://beheco.oxford...t/full/11/2/132

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[kurt]

Here is a Lark Sparrow top and a Northen Cardnal bottom

[luv2bird]

Beautiful photos of two species' nests and eggs I haven't seen, thank you.

[luv2bird]

Thanks Matt for posting the link

[zoutedrop]

European Starling eggs. 

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[zoutedrop]

Brewer's Blackbird nest. Front yard of my in-laws' home in a spruce.

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[zoutedrop]

House Finch eggs.  Saw some interesting behavior, another female visited with mom as she was sitting on the nest. 

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[nono0606]

Dark eyed junco (slate coloured junco) eggs.

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