Eggs are generally white in color and our eyes are accustomed to the belief that it’s normal for eggs to be white, and absolutely amusing for them to be of any other color.
However hard we try to prove that it indeed is “abnormal” for eggs to be of any color but white, it’s not true. There’s nothing extraordinary in an egg being white.
Why we happen to see more white eggs than any other color is because most animals and birds do lay eggs that are white.
And it’s rare to see eggs of different colors that are laid by rare to find animals and birds that generally stay away from human existence.
Thus, it’s usual for eggs to be “blue” as well. But as I already mentioned, it still is a great source of amusement for humans considering how we are mostly not aware of which exact animals lay blue eggs even!
And we are also unaware of how we can sometimes not even need to see the blue egg to know that a bird lays blue eggs! Interesting enough, right?
That’s why I’ve put this article together for you to enrich you with all the facts revolving around blue eggs.
Birds With Blue Eggs
American Robins and Their Spectacular Blue Eggs
When it comes to birds that lay blue eggs, American Robins are quite famous for it.
It lays a clutch of 3-5 eggs at once, which are mostly of the shade of light pastel blue or sky blue. These eggs are of the usual size of 2.8 – 3cm in length and near about 2cm in width.
Blackbirds And Their Blue Eggs
The Eurasian Blackbird, also known as the common blackbird, also lays eggs of a beautiful bluish-green shade with red freckles.
Their general time of laying eggs for the offspring start by the mid of March and extend till the 3rd week of July. They lay in clutches of 3-5 at a time as well.
These eggs are of an average length of 2.9cm and width of 2.2cm, almost constant for all the eggs.
Song Thrush and Their Blue Eggs
Song Thrushes also lay a beautiful shimmery shade of light blue eggs, that are either spotted with black or purple marks in a miscellaneous pattern. Their clutches are 4- 5 eggs at a time.
These eggs are generally of a width of 2.1cm and a length of 2.7cm.
Dunnock and their blue eggs
Dunnocks are often mistaken for their look-alikes, House Sparrows.
So, one of the most distinguishable factors among these two birds is definitely the color of the eggs laid by the two birds, which is the general white for the House Sparrows and blue for the Dunnocks.
Dunnocks lay blue eggs with a glossy finish which might or might not have some red spots on them. They tend to lay a clutch of 4-5 eggs at once.
These eggs are generally of a width of 1.4cm and length of 1.9cm, clearly showing how tiny these eggs are.
Starlings and Their Blue Eggs
The not-so-friendly neighbor, Starlings also lay a pale shade of light blue eggs with a hint of white and green, in a clutch of 2-9 eggs over a large span of time.
These eggs are mostly 2.1cm wide and 3cm long, showing a pretty decent size to be a bird’s egg.
Magpies and Their Blue Eggs
Magpies and Blackbirds lay almost identical eggs, i.e. of a beautiful bluish-green shade with a lot of speckles.
However, their sizes are somewhat bigger than that of Blackbirds, i.e. with a width of around 2.4cm and a length of 3.5 cm.
House Finches and Their Blue Eggs
House Finches lay a pale shade of bluish-green eggs with some random speckles here and there. Their clutches are mostly 4-5 eggs at a time.
Their laying time commences from the 3rd or 4th week of March till the last week of July, also depending on the location they choose for the period and the favorable situations.
These eggs are mostly around 1.6 to 2.1 cm long and 1.3 to 1.5 cm wide.
Some other birds that lay blue eggs:
- Gray Catbirds
- Black Tinamous
- Common Mynas ( a Starling variety)
- Linnets
- Blue Jays
- Eastern Bluebirds
- Snowy Egrets
Now, we know most of the birds that are most likely to lay blue eggs. But why do the eggs of certain birds need to be blue?
It obviously is absolutely normal, yet rare, for eggs to be blue in color, and there is always a reason as to why mother nature has designed the eggs of these birds differently.
And while we talk about blue eggs, we should also talk about the reason behind their blue occurrence in detail.
Reason Behind Blue Colored Eggs
To Camouflage
Yes, eggs can be of different colors to camouflage them from any potential threats that are most likely to occur for a bird egg.
What can be the threats?
Several predator animals and species tend to consider birds’ eggs as a good source of nutrition and hence, it is an immense threat to the newly laid eggs.
But how does a camouflaged color tend to contribute against such a threat?
By making it simply unimaginable for the predators that these not-at-all white-colored oval substances are edibles for them.
It rules out their general idea of their food and hence makes the eggs less likely to grab their attention.
Protection From The Scorching Heat
Why do you think birds build their nests in shady areas? So that they can protect the eggs from the harm that sunlight can cause to the tender eggshells.
The heat and radiation of the sun are extremely harmful to eggs and can negatively influence the incubation period, leading to problematic development of the chicks, damage to their health, or simply premature cracking of the shells.
Hence, having a light-colored egg, like white or pale blue can actually deflect some of the heat and help the egg stay a lot cooler than a dark-colored egg.
Interesting Reason Behind Robin’s Blue eggs
While all other birds simply lay blue eggs, Robin eggs are blue for an interesting reason.
While laying an egg, female Robins tend to deposit a pigment known as biliverdin over their laid eggshells, leading to the sheen blue color. But what is the purpose of such a layer?
Well, there is no particular purpose in favor of the eggs why Robin tends to eject that layer. Rather, it is a natural part of the process and is a representation of the health of the bird.
The glossier is the shade of blue on the eggs, the healthier is their metabolism. Moreover, such ejection and elevated attractiveness of the color of eggs can be a way of attracting male mates for the birds too!
And that was all the facts you needed to know about the amusing blue eggs laid by some unique and rare birds and the reason behind such difference in color along with the purpose it solves, helping you enrich all through!
Related Articles You May Like