Regular readers know that I occasionally recycle an old blog post because few current blog followers have seen it. This one was originally published on May 23, 2012. I’ve reprocessed the images and rewritten much of the text.
A couple of days ago on Antelope Island we spotted a far off Long-billed Curlew in flight with something large in its bill. It was much too distant for decent photos but I was curious about what it was carrying so I scoped it with my 500mm lens. Even at that great distance it was obvious that the bird was carrying an egg. I actually fired off a couple of photos but the curlew was so far away that I just deleted those images when I arrived home. I wish I hadn’t now…
I’ve seen and photographed birds carrying egg fragments from the nest after the hatching of their chicks several times but this seemed a little strange because it looked like an entire egg rather than just a fragment (which I didn’t think at all likely or even possible). Another thing that strikes me as unusual is the fact that this bird was several hundred feet in the air and flew a long distance with the egg even though BNA Online says that when curlews dispose of egg shells they carry them only “several meters” from the nest before dropping them.
We watched as the curlew eventually landed on a gravel road where we were able to find the abandoned egg. Here you see it undisturbed and in place where we found it. It seems apparent to me that this egg didn’t hatch. It doesn’t look like it has been pipped from the inside by the egg tooth of the chick and besides the hole in the egg is much too small for the chick to have emerged through it. In addition, some of the broken fragments held in place by the shell membrane seem to be “caved in” slightly rather than “caved out” as you might expect with the emergence of a chick.
I asked Mia to hold the egg while I took a few photos to give a sense of scale since I was so impressed by its very large size. I can hardly imagine a curlew having to lay an egg this large – just the thought of it makes my sphincters pucker! And they typically lay four of them.
It’s my suspicion that the contents of this egg were eaten by a predator in the nest and that the parent curlew instinctively removed it for sanitary reasons. If so it reminds me once again of just how precarious successful reproduction often is in the wild.
I was also struck by the shape of the hole in the egg. I see the outline of a small dog with a short erect tail looking away from me.
Perhaps I’ve seen too many Rorschach ink blots…
Ron
Actually that was a picture of a little black mutt we had that almost died of an overdose of wormomg meds when she was a tiny pup. The emergency vet wanted to “put her down”, claiming she’d be blind and nothing but a vegetable…I said, Hell no! Do your job and save her!!!” She lived a long life, was smart as a whip and ruled everything and everyone at all times…she was as ugly as a mud fence, had to live with nsme “POOKY”, and was one of the greatest, most loyal, most ourageous dogs ever!!!
She was probably after a squirrel…only got one once, was mad as hell when we took it away from her…especially afterca lifetime of dancing around the bottom of trees,, trying to catch one…looks like she was whping around, hoping to snatch one….
Sounds like Pooky was a survivor, Patty.
What an elegant egg. Practical and beautiful – like so much of the natural world.
I am not going to go down the Rorschach ink blots path. The indications of my character scare even me.
I agree, “elegant” describes it well, EC.
Sorry Ron, I see a hunched back gargoyle with a short horn. Maybe not enough Rorschach inkblots. The egg did make me curious however, as to how long of a bill a long billed curlew chick has. If it was very long it might be quite a job to pick its way out of the inside of a sphere or an egg.
The bills of curlew chicks aren’t very long, Marvin.
And to be perfectly honest the first time I looked at that hole I saw a bird instead of a dog. But it’s the dog that persists now.
It’s a beautiful egg. I love the coloration.
I agree, Arwen.
Not too many Rorschach ink blots (because I can see the same thing), though now I wonder why you would have seen too many of them… 😇 The egg is an interesting mystery.
“now I wonder why you would have seen too many of them”
That made me smile, Susan. Nothing sinister though – most of them I saw was in a college psychology class years ago.
Ow! Ow! Ow! That is one big-ass egg! (so to speak) It’s beautiful — always interesting to see how much variation there is in egg shape, size and coloration.
Winter has definitely hit SoCal. The rain continues and I now have a moat around the back of the house which needs to be bailed before Nessie decides to set up shop. I guess we should be careful what we wish for. Santa/ Hanukkah Harry/Krampus are going to need their thermals Saturday night too. 40 degrees — at the coast! (I know that 40 is “shorts weather” for you guys, but it is a mite chilly for us.)
Wishing you and yours all the best as we close out 2016. Hopefully, your new windows and siding are all in now.
Loved your “so to speak” description of the egg’s size, Marty. Perfect!
The windows are in and the siding should be finished today if there are no setbacks. Perfect timing because a huge storm is coming in and it’s expected to give us a very white (and deep) Christmas. Snow like that would have seriously delayed my remodel project.
You SoCal folks seriously need the moisture so I’m very happy for your rain.
It typically gets a little colder in inland LA county, and we had a couple nights below freezing recently.
I always say, call me a weather wimp because I’m from LA, but next time it’s gets to be around 113 in *boston or toronto or pretty much anywhere back east*, tell me how you like it 😉
Really interesting post. I can see the dog.
Yes I can see the “puppy”. It is funny how imagination can trick us if we let it go free …
I wish you Ron and all your readers a very Happy Christmas Eve and all of the best for the New coming Year.
Thank you, Jorge. I send similar wishes to you across the pond.
Interesting! I wasn’t aware of their eggs being more round than “egg shaped” and the size certainly does induce the pucker factor! I agree with your assessment of the shape of the hole! 🙂 It is a beautiful egg even if the chick didn’t make it.
Yeah, I thought the egg and speculation about what might have happened to it were both fascinating. Thanks, Judy.