9 eggs at true relative size, from the 26.3 mm egg of the Common Poorwill to the 35.56 mm egg of the Chuck-will's-widow.
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.
Antillean Nighthawk
Chordeiles gundlachii
- 28.9 × 21.2 mm (approx.)
- Clutch: 1–2 eggs
Pale gray to light green, heavily smudged with gray or brown.
Sources of information
- Size
- Estimated: no Antillean Nighthawk average found, so this uses the Florida Nighthawk's average from Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 238.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Antillean Nighthawk, 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).
Buff-collared Nightjar
Antrostomus ridgwayi
- 28.8 × 20.8 mm (approx.)
- Clutch: 2 eggs
Buffy with lilac and brown splotches.
Sources of information
- Size
- Estimated: no average found, so this uses the Mexican Whip-poor-will's average from Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 186.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Buff-collared Nightjar, 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).
Chuck-will's-widow
Antrostomus carolinensis
- 35.56 × 25.57 mm
- Clutch: 1–4 eggs
White to gray, with variable dark markings.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 54 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 150.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Chuck-will's-widow, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Chuck-will's-widow, 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).
Common Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
- 29.97 × 21.84 mm
- Clutch: 2 eggs
Creamy white to pale olive gray, heavily speckled with gray, brown, and black.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 81 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 212.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Nighthawk, 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 →
Common Pauraque
Nyctidromus albicollis
- 29.8 × 22.36 mm
Buffy or salmon-buff, marked with reddish brown, cinnamon, gray, and lavender.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 200.
- Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Pauraque, 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).
Common Poorwill
Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
- 26.3 × 19.9 mm
- Clutch: 2 eggs
White or pinkish.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 189.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Poorwill, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Common Poorwill, 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 →
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Antrostomus vociferus
- 29 × 21.3 mm
- Clutch: 2 eggs
Cream-colored or grayish white, marbled with lavender-gray, yellowish-brown, or pale brown.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 50 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 169.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Eastern Whip-poor-will, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Eastern Whip-poor-will, 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 →
Lesser Nighthawk
Chordeiles acutipennis
- 27.05 × 19.53 mm
- Clutch: 2 eggs
Clay-colored and speckled with fine gray and purple spots.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 52 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 247.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Lesser Nighthawk, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Lesser Nighthawk, 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).
Mexican Whip-poor-will
Antrostomus arizonae
- 28.8 × 20.8 mm
- Clutch: 2 eggs
Nearly all white.
Sources of information
- Size
- Average of 29 eggs: Bent, Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and Their Allies (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 176, 1940), p. 186.
Agrees with: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Mexican Whip-poor-will, Life History. - Description
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Mexican Whip-poor-will, 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).