EGG SIZES: from smallest to largest
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Avg. length(~inches) |
Avg. egg size
|
| Carolina chickadee (CACH) | Poecile carolinensis | 0.58 | 14.8 x 11.5 |
| Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH) | Poecile atricapillus | 0.60 | 15.2 x 12.2 |
| Chestnut-backed Chickadee (CBCH) | Poecile rufescens | 0.60 | 15.3 x 12.0 |
| Boreal Chickadee (BOCH) | Poecile hudsonicus | 0.60 | 15.3 x 12.3 |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch (BHNU) | Sitta pusilla | 0.61 | 15.5 x 12.3 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch (WHNU) | Sitta carolinensis | ||
| Mountain Chickadee (MOCH) | Poecile gambeli | 0.61 | 15.6 x 12.3 |
| Tufted Titmouse (TUTI) | Baeolophus bicolor | 0.63 | 16.0 x 12.2 |
| House Wren (HOWR) | Troglodytes aedon | 0.65 | 16.4 x 12.7 |
| Bewick’s Wren (BEWR) | Thryomanes bewickii | 0.65 | 16.4 x 12.7 |
| Prothonotary Warbler (PROW) | Protonotaria citrea | 0.73 | 18.47 x 14.55 |
| Violet-green Swallow (VGSW) | Tachycineta thalassina | 0.74 | 18.7 x 13.1 |
| Tree Swallow (TRES) | Tachycineta bicolor | 0.74 | 18.7 x 13.2 |
| House Finch (rare in box) (HOFI) | Carpodacus mexicanus | 0.74 | 18.8 x 13.8 (variable length) |
| Carolina Wren (CARW) | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 0.75 | 19.1 x 14.9 |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow (ETSP) | Passer montanus | 0.80 | 19.50 × 14.21 |
| Downy Woodpecker (DOWO) | Picoides pubescens | 19.5 x 15 | |
| Eastern Bluebird (EABL) | Sialis sialis | 0.81 | 20.7 x 16.3 |
| Western Bluebird (WEBL) | Sialia mexicana | 0.83 | 21 x 16 |
| Mountain Bluebird (MOBL) | Sialia currucoides | 0.86 | 21.9 x 16.6 |
| Ash-throated Flycatcher (ATFL) | Myiarchus cinerascens | 0.88 | 22.4 x 16.5 |
| Great crested Flycatcher (GCFL) | Myarchus crinitus | 0.89 | 22.6 x 17.2 |
| House (English) Sparrow (HOSP) | Passer domesticus | 0.90 | 22.8 x 15.4 |
| Purple Martin (PUMA) | Progne subis | 0.97 | 24.5 x 17.55 |
| Brown-headed cowbird (BHCO)* | Molothrus ater | 0.82+ | 21.45 x 16.42 (varies by subspecies, from 18.03 x 13.74 to 25.40 x16.76 (BNA) |
| Bronzed Cowbird (BRCO) | Molothrus aeneus (2 subspecies) | 0.96 | 24.5 x 18.35 |
| European (Common) Starling (EUST) | Sturnus vulgaris | 1.15 | 29.2 x 21.1 |
* The Cowbird eggs I have seen are LARGER than House Sparrow eggs. The Peterson guide numbers for Brown-headed are 21.45×16.42 mm for Brown-headed, vs 23.11×18.29 for Bronzed. I have listed the Birds of North America number)
Sources:
- Peterson Field Guide of EasternBirds’ Nests, by Hal H. Harrison, 1975
- Peterson Field Guide of Western Birds’ Nests, by Hal H. Harrison, 1979
- BNA – The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:
EGGS AND NESTS – click here to see larger photos.
Unfortunately all the photos are not on the same scale.
Unfortunately all the photos are not on the same scale.
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
– C. S. Lewis
