How do you identify British bird eggs?
Eggshell colour
- Birds that build their nests in trees and shrubs (like dunnock and blackbird) generally have blue or greenish eggs, either spotted or unspotted.
- Eggs of hole-nesting birds are generally white or pale blue so that the parent birds can easily locate them and avoid breaking them.
How do I know what kind of bird egg I have?
The easiest way to identify a type of bird’s egg is to consult a field guide. I prefer ones with photographs rather than drawings. For me, they’re more realistic and show natural variations. But, in the absence of such a resource, look to these clues and then confirm with a guide.
What does an English sparrow egg look like?
House sparrow eggs are small (approximately 0.6 inches in diameter) and range in color from white to gray or can sometimes have a greenish tint. Eggs will also have brown specks or spots. Sparrows typically lay eggs during the nesting period in early spring and summer.
What Colour are starlings eggs?
pale blue eggs
Starling eggs (Sturnus vulgaris) Starling eggs are smooth and fairly glossy, 30 x 21mm in size. They are pale blue eggs with no markings. They are sometimes found whole, with unhatched eggs, largely due to infertility. Starlings nest in colonies, with all individuals feeding in a communal foraging ground.
What UK bird lays small white eggs?
The goldfinch lays white bird eggs that are dotted with some pale, brown freckles. The female goldfinch will incubate the eggs alone, laying around five eggs during each brood, but both parents are known to help out with feeding once they’ve hatched.
What do blackbird eggs look like?
Blackbird eggs are smooth and glossy, 29 x 22mm in size. They’re green-blue or completely blue eggs with heavy red-brown freckles that can make them seem brown overall. The nest is similar to a song thrush, with a backbone of twigs, a plaster of mud and a lining of fine grass.
What Colour are robin’s eggs UK?
Robin eggs The robin, everyone’s favourite garden bird. Around 20 x 15mm in size, robin eggs are smooth with a white matte finish. Like many other bird eggs, they also have pale brown freckles. Be careful when approaching a robin nest as robins are known to abandon their nest if they think it has been discovered.
What colour is a magpie egg?
Magpies usually breed from two years old, although some may breed at one year. They build large, domed nests in thorny bushes or high up in tall trees. The female lays on average six greenish-blue eggs, heavily spotted with brown, in April, and incubates them for 18 to 19 days.
How do you tell the difference between a starling egg and a robin egg?
Egg Description: The slightly glossy eggs are pale bluish- or greenish-white (rare reports of eggs with fine reddish-brown spots), and are slightly smaller and darker than a Robin’s egg. Starling newborns. Notice the clown lips, large size and white fluff towards the rear.
What bird eggs are small and white?
There are very few warblers that lay extremely pure and perfect white eggs. Some of the birds that lay plain white eggs are the Eurasian collared-dove, tree swallow, American three-toed woodpecker, oak tit mousebird, blue-throated hummingbird, and the Purple Martin.