12 eggs at true relative size, from the 33.9 mm egg of the Least Grebe to the 89 mm egg of the Yellow-billed Loon.
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.
Arctic Loon
Gavia arctica
- 76 × 47 mm
- Clutch: 1–3 eggs
Greenish olive to dark brown, with dark spots.
Sources of information
- Size
- Carboneras & Garcia, Arctic Loon, in Birds of the World (formerly Handbook of the Birds of the World).
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Arctic Loon, 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).
Clark's Grebe
Aechmophorus clarkii
- 58 × 37.5 mm (approx.)
- Clutch: 2–3 eggs
Pale bluish white, often stained brownish by sodden nest material.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 53 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 5.
- Description
- Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 5.
- Shape
- Drawn from the length and width, with the taper estimated from the typical eggs of its group (how these eggs are drawn).
Common Loon
Gavia immer
- 88.9 × 56.2 mm
- Clutch: 1–2 eggs
Brown with dark splotches.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 41 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 50.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Loon, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Loon, Life History.
Drawing checked against a photo: Wikimedia Commons 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 →
Eared Grebe
Podiceps nigricollis
- 43.5 × 30 mm
- Clutch: 1–8 eggs
Whitish.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 55 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 30.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Eared Grebe, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Eared Grebe, 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 →
Horned Grebe
Podiceps auritus
- 44 × 30 mm
- Clutch: 3–8 eggs
White to brownish or bluish green.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 45 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 24.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Horned Grebe, 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 →
Least Grebe
Tachybaptus dominicus
- 33.9 × 23.4 mm
- Clutch: 3–7 eggs
Whitish, or pale blue or green.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 49 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 37.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Least Grebe, 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).
Pacific Loon
Gavia pacifica
- 75.5 × 47 mm
- Clutch: 1–2 eggs
Variable shades of buff, brown, and olive-green.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 41 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 68.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Pacific Loon, Life History.
Drawing checked against a photo: Bird Eggs of Canada photo (University of Saskatchewan Department of Biology Natural History Collection). - 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 →
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
- 43.4 × 30 mm
- Clutch: 2–10 eggs
Bluish white to greenish white, rarely turquoise, and unmarked.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 48 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 43.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Pied-billed Grebe, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Pied-billed Grebe, 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 →
Red-necked Grebe
Podiceps grisegena
- 53.7 × 34.5 mm
- Clutch: 1–9 eggs
Light blue.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 60 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 12.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Red-necked Grebe, 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 →
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
- 72.5 × 45 mm
- Clutch: 1–2 eggs
Elongated, with variable color ranging from brown to olive, with blotches or speckles.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 58 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 75.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Red-throated Loon, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Red-throated Loon, 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 →
Western Grebe
Aechmophorus occidentalis
- 58 × 37.5 mm
- Clutch: 2–3 eggs
Plain pale bluish, often stained brownish by sodden nest material.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 53 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 5.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Western Grebe, 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).
Yellow-billed Loon
Gavia adamsii
- 89 × 56.9 mm
- Clutch: 1–2 eggs
Brown with dark brown spots.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 17 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919), p. 61.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Yellow-billed Loon, 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 →