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Bird eggs

674 bird eggs so far, illustrated at true relative size, with their measurements and where every number came from.

About this collection. These eggs cover most of the birds that nest in Canada and the United States, plus a few famous eggs from elsewhere, like the Ostrich and the extinct Elephant Bird. It isn’t every bird in the world yet; we’ll update this note as the collection grows.

Egg families

Albatrosses, petrels, gannets & penguins7 eggs · 29.7–120 mm long Auks, murres & puffins20 eggs · 39.5–124 mm long Blackbirds & orioles21 eggs · 20.5–33.6 mm long Cardinals, grosbeaks & tanagers14 eggs · 17.8–25.3 mm long Chickadees, nuthatches & wrens37 eggs · 13.3–25.9 mm long Crows, jays & magpies17 eggs · 27.3–49.5 mm long Cuckoos & roadrunners6 eggs · 22–39.2 mm long Ducks, geese & swans48 eggs · 45.8–113.5 mm long Falcons7 eggs · 35–59.4 mm long Finches & House Sparrow19 eggs · 14.7–26 mm long Flycatchers & kingbirds35 eggs · 15.5–28.5 mm long Gamebirds & poultry28 eggs · 30–69 mm long Gulls, terns & jaegers35 eggs · 31–77.9 mm long Herons, ibises & storks18 eggs · 31–91.3 mm long Kingfishers & trogons4 eggs · 24.4–43.7 mm long Larks & swallows9 eggs · 18.3–24.5 mm long Loons & grebes12 eggs · 33.9–89 mm long Mockingbirds, catbirds & thrashers10 eggs · 23.3–30.1 mm long Nightjars & nighthawks9 eggs · 26.3–35.6 mm long Ostriches, emus & relatives7 eggs · 58–340 mm long Owls19 eggs · 26.6–57 mm long Parrots6 eggs · 19–50 mm long Pelicans & cormorants10 eggs · 52.5–90 mm long Pigeons & doves11 eggs · 21.9–39.7 mm long Rails, coots & cranes13 eggs · 25.6–98.4 mm long Shorebirds50 eggs · 29–65 mm long Shrikes & vireos15 eggs · 17.4–26.7 mm long Sparrows, juncos & longspurs48 eggs · 17–24.9 mm long Swifts & hummingbirds19 eggs · 10–28.6 mm long Thrushes & bluebirds14 eggs · 19.1–30.5 mm long Vultures, hawks & eagles26 eggs · 37.5–106 mm long Warblers51 eggs · 14.6–21.9 mm long Waxwings, starlings & pipits7 eggs · 19.1–29.5 mm long Woodpeckers22 eggs · 19.4–33.2 mm long

How these eggs are drawn

Every egg here is drawn from four numbers. Two are measured: its length and its width, taken from published averages of real eggs, with the source given for each egg. The other two set the egg’s taper: how much wider one end is than the other, and how pointed the narrow end is. Published sources rarely give those, so they’re estimated from the typical shape of eggs in the bird’s group (plovers’ eggs are top-shaped, owls’ nearly round, and so on) and applied across that group. The same four numbers make the 3D-printable eggs and the poster outlines, so they all match.

The colours and markings in the illustrations follow each egg’s published description. Real eggs vary a lot, even within one nest; each illustration shows a typical egg.

Every egg, A–Z

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