'I think that if required on pain of death to name instantly the most perfect thing in the universe I should risk my fate on a bird's egg' Thomas Wentworth Higginson 1862 How are eggs of different shapes made & why are they the shape they are? When does the shell of an egg harden? Why do some eggs contain two yolks? How are the colours & patterns of an eggshell created & why do they vary? & which end of an egg is laid first
- the blunt end or the pointy end? These are just some of the questions A Bird's Egg answers as the journey of a bird's egg from creation & fertilisation to its eventual hatching is examined with current scientific knowledge placed within an historical context Beginning with an examination of the stunning eggs of the guillemot each of which is so variable in pattern & colour that no two are ever the same acclaimed ornithologist Tim Birkhead then looks at the eggs of hens cuckoos & many other birds revealing weird & wonderful facts about these miracles of nature Woven around & supporting these facts are extraordinary stories of the individuals who from as far back as Ancient Egypt have been fixated on the study & collection of eggs not always to the benefit of their conservation Firmly grounded in science & enriched by a wealth of observation drawn from a lifetime spent studying birds A Bird's Egg is an illuminating & engaging exploration of the science behind eggs & the history of man's obsession with them