Thursday, April 8, 2010

A Fragile Beauty







On Easter Monday,we found an egg. It was partially hidden in the grass in our front yard. It was a real Easter egg, not hidden by humans. A robin's egg. How beautiful, small, and fragile. Little Ella was enchanted with it, and once I found out it had been on the ground a few days, we felt we could crack it open without harming anything. For more than a hundred years, scientists and birders have wondered why bird eggs are speckled. It was thought that the speckles on eggs were camoflauge, to hide them. But speckling patterns did not do a good job of blending in. Then a few years ago, scientists discovered a new purpose for the speckling. The speckles are always in spots where the shell is much thinner. It is thought that the pigment in the spots acts rather like a glue, strengthening and supporting the thin areas, protecting them from breakage. Who knew? The smallest egg is fom a hummingbird, the largest from an ostrich. I have read that it takes two hours to hard boil an ostrich egg. Oy, the cholesterol!



"The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs in the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense." job 39:13,17

39 comments:

Stephanie V said...

Good info. It's amazing how strong a 'fragile' egg can be. Lovely photo of your Ella.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Ginny, When I see those tiny little eggs (like I did last year when watching the Bluebirds) ---I was totally amazed that a baby bluebird could pop out of that tiny egg---and then grow so quickly... It's totally awesome and in my mind, a miracle.

Hugs,
Betsy

MadSnapper said...

well this certainly fits in the folder of things i did not know. what a pretty little egg and of course we know the little girl is pretty. very interesting facts and yikes on the ostrich egg. once i cracked an egg to scramble and found a teeny tiny itty bitty chicken inside. i have struggled to eat eggs boiled since then, and even scrambled. is that TMI?

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I have zebra finches that laid eggs last year and one of them hatched! I gave the baby bird to friends. Their eggs are white and the size of a jelly bean.

George said...

Thanks for the information about the speckles on bird eggs. I occasionally find broken robin eggs when I work in the yard.

DawnTreader said...

What a pretty colour. I thought from the first picture that it was some kind of candy egg.

SquirrelQueen said...

Lovely photo of Ella and the little egg. I sometimes find Robin's eggs in my yard and it is a little sad.

Good information on the speckles, very interesting. It would take a long time to hard boil an ostrich egg, those things are huge. We watched an ostrich lay an egg at a wildlife park one time. After she laid it she walked away, some mother she was.

Glenda said...

A bird's nest full of eggs is a beautiful sight, and so it the little robin egg you found! And again today I learned new things from your post; I didn't know about the purpose of the spots! Neat post!

Kilauea Poetry said...

Great post..what a cute photo! How interesting about those speckles and how you tied this in with the Ostrich! Clever! Thanks for your warm comments on my blog too! Do stop by again- have a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

valium 10mg buy valium cheap online - buy valium 10mg online

Anonymous said...

ativan online ativan addiction side effects - ativan ambien alcohol

Anonymous said...

diazepam injection diazepam online shop - common side effects diazepam

Anonymous said...

order ativan ativan 30 years - ativan dosage versus xanax

Anonymous said...

lorazepam 1mg lorazepam dura 1mg beipackzettel - what is ativan addiction

Anonymous said...

diazepam 10 mg diazepam dosage color - diazepam 5mg sale

Anonymous said...

soma medication buy somatropin growth hormone - watson brand soma online

Anonymous said...

soma pills carisoprodol 350 mg and ibuprofen - generic soma india

Anonymous said...

discount valium buy roche valium online uk - medication stronger than valium

Anonymous said...

buy valium online valium medication pictures - usage for valium

Anonymous said...

soma online the medication soma - buy soma online from canada

Anonymous said...

buy ambien online ambien pill apo - generic ambien 6469

Anonymous said...

buy valium online is 5mg valium a high dose - lorazepam generic valium

Anonymous said...

Blogger: Let Your Light Shine - Post a Comment order meridia - cheap meridia http://www.meridiaordernow.com/#cheap-meridia

Anonymous said...

Hi, MoxoredapeTox purchase azithromycin - buy zithromax online http://www.zithromaxonlineprice.com/#buy-zithromax-online

Anonymous said...

Hello, propecia 5mg - finasteride without prescription http://www.bigdocpoker.com/#generic-propecia-online-no-prescription

Anonymous said...

Ultram Drug Teat cheap acomplia diet pills - acomplia pills http://www.buydiscountedisotretinoin.net/#acomplia-pills

Anonymous said...

Hello, generic reductil - purchase meridia online http://www.amaryllisgarden.com/#purchase-meridia-online

Anonymous said...

Hello, cheap atorvastatin - lipitor no prescription http://www.costoflipitoronline.net/#lipitor-no-prescription

Anonymous said...

Hello, generic lipitor without prescription - buy lipitor no prescription http://www.costoflipitoronline.net/#buy-lipitor-no-prescription

Anonymous said...

Hello, cheap atorvastatin online - atorvastatin no prescription http://www.costoflipitoronline.net/#atorvastatin-no-prescription

Anonymous said...

advitleva cheapest seroquel - discount seroquel http://www.seroqueldiscounts.com/

Anonymous said...

Sea Sickness Tablets cheap xanax no prescription - order xanax online no prescription http://www.freeaustraliawireless.com/, xanax cost

Anonymous said...

Drug Effects On Your Body cheap meridia online - meridia online no prescription http://www.meridiaonlineorder.net/#meridia-online-no-prescription , [url=http://www.meridiaonlineorder.net/#sibutramine-online-no-prescription ]sibutramine online no prescription [/url]

Anonymous said...

rvb fluoxetine for sale - prozac without rx http://www.prozacforsaleonline.net/#prozac-without-rx , [url=http://www.prozacforsaleonline.net/#fluoxetine-cost ]fluoxetine cost [/url]

Anonymous said...

losneyfgd buy klonopin without prescription - order clonazepam online http://www.klonopinonlinediscount.com/#order-clonazepam-online , [url=http://www.klonopinonlinediscount.com/#clonazepam-no-prescription ]clonazepam no prescription [/url]

Anonymous said...

6, cheap adipex - buy cheap adipex http://www.costofadipex375.com/#generic-adipex-online, [url=http://www.costofadipex375.com/#generic-adipex-online]generic adipex online[/url]

Anonymous said...

4, buy modafinil without prescription - provigil without prescription http://www.provigilonlineoffer.net/, [url=http://www.provigilonlineoffer.net/]buy modafinil online without prescription [/url]

Anonymous said...

11, [url=http://www.klonopinforsaleonline.com/]buy clonazepam [/url] - clonazepam online - klonopin online no prescription http://www.klonopinforsaleonline.com/.

yanmaneee said...

lebron james shoes
nike epic react
yeezy supply
goyard handbags
golden goose sneakers
bape clothing
jordan shoes
kyrie 6
birkin bag
retro jordans

The Big Cow - Easter 2024

 The Big Cow is all dressed up and ready for Easter. And he has brought along some of his friends as well!