When searching for bird nests, occasionally one can find an
egg that does not look like one at all. Deformation of an egg can occur for a
variety of reasons (which I will not discuss here) and can result in some
strange shapes. The weirdest egg I ever observed had been laid by a
Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa
tridactyla in its nest on the large former radar tower on Middleton
Island during the summer of 2010. I have no idea what would be the cause of its
remarkable shape.
Deformed Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa
tridactyla egg found on Middleton Island in the summer of 2010 (T. van Nus)
Unfortunately, I only have these two photos to show and can’t
retrieve any background information about the bird that laid it, though it
possibly had been a bird that was included in some physiological study…
