6 eggs at true relative size, from the 22 mm egg of the Common Cuckoo to the 39.2 mm egg of the Greater Roadrunner.
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-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus erythropthalmus
- 27.23 × 20.53 mm
- Clutch: 2–5 eggs
Greenish-blue, unmarked.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 42 eggs: Bendire, Life Histories of North American Birds, Vol. 2 (1895), p. 31.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Black-billed Cuckoo, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Black-billed Cuckoo, Life History.
Drawing checked against a photo: Bird Eggs of Canada photo (Royal Saskatchewan Museum). - 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 →
Common Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
- 22 × 16 mm
Variable; often grey or buff, finely speckled to mimic the host's eggs.
Sources of information
- Size
- BTO BirdFacts: Cuckoo.
- Description
- Wikipedia: Common cuckoo.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus
- 39.2 × 30.1 mm
- Clutch: 2–6 eggs
White covered with a chalky yellow film, sometimes stained with brown or gray.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 55 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 41.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Greater Roadrunner, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Greater Roadrunner, 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).
Groove-billed Ani
Crotophaga sulcirostris
- 30.93 × 24.06 mm
Turquoise blue with a chalky white coating.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 51 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 29.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Groove-billed Ani, Life History.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Mangrove Cuckoo
Coccyzus minor
- 30.77 × 23.18 mm
- Clutch: 1–4 eggs
Pale bluish green fading to light greenish yellow, unmarked.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 20 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 51.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Mangrove Cuckoo, 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).
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
- 30.4 × 23 mm
- Clutch: 1–5 eggs
Smooth, unmarked, pale bluish-green fading to light greenish yellow.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 53 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 57.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Life History.
Drawing checked against a photo: Bird Eggs of Canada photo (Royal Alberta Museum). - 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 →