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Why Are Blue Egg-Laying Birds So Special

Many birds lay light-blue to turquoise eggs.

Several birds, amphibians, and invertebrates lay eggs. Blue Eggs are bird-only. Discover why bird eggs are blue. Robins, bluebirds, blackbirds, Starlings, Thrushes, Blue Jays, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Catbirds lay blue or brown speckled eggs. In female birds’ oviducts, pigments color eggs. Avian age impacts color density. Eggs grow as bird’s age.

As they share the same pigment, bigger eggs have less. Even egg-laying strain impacts color. Blue helps parent birds hide and identify. Rubbed blue eggs retain their color. Robins, Blackbirds, Starlings, and Blue Jays lay Blue Eggs to distinguish them from parasites like cowbirds that lay their eggs in other birds’ nests.

What Kind Of Bird Lays Small Blue Eggs

What Bird Lays Blue Eggs? Many bird species throughout the globe regularly produce tiny, blue eggs. Although larger birds like ostriches and emus lay their eggs on the ground, smaller birds are known to deposit their eggs in nests.

Among the numerous species that lay Blue Eggs are the Goldfinch and the Red-winged Blackbird.

Nests with blue eggs are not common, so it’s natural to ask what kind of bird may have deposited them. Several species of birds, including the blackbird, song thrush, magpie, starling, and dunnock, all lay blue eggs.

It’s a common misconception that robins lay Blue Eggs. The only species of bird known to lay blue eggs is the American robin.

American Robin

  • A nesting American Robin will typically produce three to five pale Blue Eggs.
  • With a width of about 0.8 inches, the eggs deposited are rather little (2 cm).
  • They herald the arrival of early spring in North America.
  • It is important to keep in mind that wherever in North America, disturbing an active nest of eggs is illegal.
  • Blackbird
  • The blackbird, like the robin, produces a clutch of three to five Blue Eggs.
  • They lay eggs from March through July.
  • With crimson speckles, the eggs have a blueish green tint.

Song Thrush

  • The song thrush usually lays a clutch of four or five pale Blue Eggs.
  • Spots and specks of black or purple might be seen on the eggs.
  • The eggs of the Song Thrush are tiny at roughly 0.8 in (2 cm) (2 cm).

Dunnock

  • Four to five eggs are laid by female Dunnocks.
  • Its eggs have a beautiful blue color with hints of crimson.
  • About 0.6 inches in diameter, the eggs are tiny (1.5 cm).

Starling Bird

  • Since no one can see the Starling’s stunning plumage from a distance, it is a rare bird. At a distance, they will look black, yet up close, you will notice their beauty.
  • A clutch of nine eggs is what starlings are known to deposit.
  • The hue might range from white to a very light blue or green.
  • The size of the clutch of eggs is comparable to the robin at about 0.8 in (2 cm) (2 cm).

Bluebirds

  • The eggs of bluebirds are much smaller than those of starlings.
  • White eggs are laid by around 5% of Bluebirds.

Magpies

  • Magpies lay eggs that are bluish-green in hue with patterns on the eggshell.
  • At a breadth of 1 inch, their eggs are bigger than those of a blackbird (2.54 cm).

House Finches

  • House Finches are cavity nesters.
  • They lay eggs from late March until late July.
  • Four or five pale, bluish-green eggs are laid by each clutch.
  • The eggs deposited by a female house finch are fairly little, with a width of approximately 0.5 in (1.2 cm) (1.2 cm).

Are Blue Eggs Healthier

The coloration of the eggshell has nothing to do with staying healthy. Its only purpose is to help locate and identify bird eggs, whether they are nesting on the ground or in trees.

The Araucana, a native South American chicken species, is well-known for its distinctively Blue Eggs. These colored eggs, according to nutritionists and health firms, have less cholesterol than regular white and brown eggs.

Yet, scientific research demonstrates this hypothesis false and indicates that every eggs, be it colored or white, contains cholesterol. So, eating eggs in moderation is suggested if you have high blood cholesterol or any cardiac ailment.

Why Do Some Birds Lay Blue Eggs When Others Don’t

Similarities exist between white and Blue Eggs.

All eggs are healthy. The egg’s color is determined by the bird’s coloring. Eggs vary in color according to bird pigments. The main blue pigment is called biliverdin, which comes from the red blood component heme.

As the birds mature, their eggs lighten. When the bird is young, a vivid coloring may be noticed. Bigger eggs are paler, smaller bluer. The hue is the only variation, and birds lay blue eggs.

Reasons Why These Birds Lay Blue Eggs

Biliverdin and protoporphyrin are female birds’ reproductive ink cartridges. All birds have these two molecules, but not all species utilize them. The ones that do utilize it, however, generate brilliantly colored eggshells.

Biliverdin makes eggshells blue and green. Bluer eggs have more biliverdin. Protoporphyrin colors eggs red or brown or forms dots and speckles. In the last hours of manufacture, these “inks” are applied to the newly created shell.

The color of the eggs changes throughout the laying cycle of birds that lay many eggs at once. They seem to be out of pigment, but the mother bird is out of calcium and nutrition.

As 10% of the calcium in eggshells originates from the female, she requires additional calcium and nutrition when laying eggs. If she doesn’t receive any, the eggs will vary in shade hue.

So, now that you know how it works let’s move on to why it is required.

What About Patterns, Spots, And Blotches On Blue Eggs

Speckled eggs are another kind of camouflage. You won’t see patterns, spots, or speckles on cavity nesters like the Eastern Blue Eggs, but open nesters and ground nesters do.

Ground nesters like ducks, geese, shorebirds like Avocets, Plovers, and Sandpipers, game birds like Turkey, Pheasant, and Grouse, and Bobolink, Wood, and Hermit Thrushes deposit speckled eggs.

They use disguised eggs to protect their eggs from predators.

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