10 wild photos of bird eggs

A clutch of robin’s eggs on a nest in Moorestown, New Jersey. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images. Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Colorful dyed eggs typically grab the spotlight on Easter, but the world of bird eggs is so much bigger than chickens. There are as many colors and sizes as there are bird species. According to conservation writer Paul Baicich, the co-author of Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds , there is a reason some eggs are white and some are colored . White eggs in the wild mostly belong to the birds that nest in deep holes in trees or terrain. These birds are called cavity nesters and the contrast between the white egg and dark spaces help them see their eggs. Some cavity nesters include woodpeckers, owls , and kestrels. Wild colored eggs—not the ones the Easter Bunny hides—generally belong to birds that nest in more open areas on the ground. This color makes them more difficult to find. Because eggs in ground nests have color, they are harder for predators to find. Plovers , gulls, and most ducks are considered ground nesters. Take a peek into this exciting world in the gallery below. (Click to expand images to full screen.) Spotted sandpipers ( Actitis macularia ) actually reverse roles when it comes to watching over eggs. The females will migrate early to arrive at a potential nesting site before the male. She is also the one that establishes the territory by driving out the other females. After mating and laying her eggs, the female abandons the male who then takes on all of the parental duties. Image: NPS/John Good . A sora ( Porzana carolina ) nest lying in a shallow marsh at Morris Wetland Management District in Minnesota. Soras are small marsh birds. They typically lay 10 to 12 eggs in one clutch, but can sometimes lay up to 18. Image: Sara Vacek/USFWS . Many eggs have some color, which helps camouflage them from predators. This is a black skimmer ( Rynchops niger ) egg at Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. Egg incubation takes 21 to 23 days. It is performed by both sexes, and the male may do more. Image: Greg Thompson/USFWS. Ostriches are the largest birds on Earth, but can’t fly like most other avians. Both living ostrich species, the common ostrich ( Struthio camelus ) and the Somali ostrich ( Struthio molybdophanes ), are found in Africa. Their eggs are famous for their size, averaging six inches long, five inches across, and weigh about three pounds. Female ostriches lay seven to 10 eggs at a time , in communal nests to benefit the entire flock. These eggs belong to a common ostrich in the Ngorongoro conservation area in Tanzania. Image: André Gilden via Getty Images. An eared grebe ( Podiceps nigricollis ) egg resting in a nest in a marsh at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. Right after this photo was taken, an adult eared grebe returned to the nest. These l