14 eggs at true relative size, from the 17.8 mm egg of the Varied Bunting to the 25.3 mm egg of the Northern Cardinal.
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.
Black-headed Grosbeak
Pheucticus melanocephalus
- 24.7 × 17.7 mm
- Clutch: 2–5 eggs
Pale to greenish blue with brown or reddish brown spotting.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 61.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Black-headed Grosbeak, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Black-headed Grosbeak, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
- 22 × 16.8 mm
- Clutch: 3–5 eggs
Pale blue to white, and on rare occasions spotted with brown.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 69.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Blue Grosbeak, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Blue Grosbeak, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Dickcissel
Spiza americana
- 20.8 × 15.7 mm
- Clutch: 3–6 eggs
Unmarked, pale blue.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 168.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Dickcissel, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Hepatic Tanager
Piranga flava
- 24.5 × 17.7 mm
- Clutch: 3–5 eggs
Bluish green speckled with brown or purple, especially around the large end.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Blackbirds, Orioles, Tanagers, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 211, 1958), p. 494.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Hepatic Tanager, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Hepatic Tanager, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
- 18.7 × 13.7 mm
- Clutch: 3–4 eggs
Unmarked white; a few have brownish spots.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 87.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Indigo Bunting, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Indigo Bunting, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Lazuli Bunting
Passerina amoena
- 18.7 × 13.6 mm
- Clutch: 3–4 eggs
Pale blue to faint greenish-blue or white.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 120.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Lazuli Bunting, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Lazuli Bunting, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
- 25.3 × 18.2 mm
- Clutch: 2–5 eggs
Grayish white, buffy white, or greenish white speckled with pale gray to brown.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 6.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Northern Cardinal, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Northern Cardinal, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Painted Bunting
Passerina ciris
- 18.9 × 14.5 mm
- Clutch: 3–4 eggs
Grayish or pale bluish white, with fine speckles of brown and gray.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 142.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Painted Bunting, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Painted Bunting, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Pyrrhuloxia
Cardinalis sinuatus
- 24.5 × 17.8 mm
- Clutch: 2–4 eggs
Grayish to greenish white, with pale gray or brown markings (very similar to eggs of the Northern Cardinal).
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 25.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Pyrrhuloxia, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Pyrrhuloxia, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
- 23.5 × 17.5 mm
- Clutch: 1–5 eggs
Pale green to blue, with reddish brown or purplish speckles.
Sources of information
- Size
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Life History.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
- 23.5 × 16.5 mm
- Clutch: 3–5 eggs
Greenish blue to light blue speckled with chestnut, purplish red, and lilac.
Sources of information
- Size
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Scarlet Tanager, Life History.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Scarlet Tanager, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →
Summer Tanager
Piranga rubra
- 23.1 × 17.1 mm
- Clutch: 3–4 eggs
Pale blue to pale green, with brown markings.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Blackbirds, Orioles, Tanagers, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 211, 1958), p. 499.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Summer Tanager, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Summer Tanager, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Varied Bunting
Passerina versicolor
- 17.8 × 14.3 mm
- Clutch: 2–5 eggs
Pale blue or green, with variable amount of speckling and spotting.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 21 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 237, Part 1, 1968), p. 134.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Varied Bunting, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
- 22.9 × 16.8 mm
- Clutch: 3–5 eggs
Blue or bluish green, sometimes almost white, and sparsely spotted with gray-brown.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Blackbirds, Orioles, Tanagers, and Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 211, 1958), p. 471.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Western Tanager, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Western Tanager, Life History.
- Clutch
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Make a 3D-printable copy of this egg →See posters with this egg →