The real hue of Blue Bird Eggs is a topic of much discussion among bluebird enthusiasts. What color is it, exactly?
Many bird watchers want reliable information on birds and their eggs so they may make educated choices.
As a result, the true hue of bluebird eggs is dissected in this article. What does it imply when a bluebird lays blue eggs? We’ll break it down.
What Color Are Bluebird Eggs
Blue Eggs are laid by 98% of bluebird chickens. Yet, less than 2% of hens may produce white eggs and even fewer (1%) may produce pink eggs.
Typically, there will be four or five eggs in a clutch. Although five eggs is the average number of eggs a female bluebird will lay, it is not unusual for her to deposit seven eggs in a single brood.
Typically, all the eggs laid in a given nest will have the same hue. Within a given clutch, the eggs never come in a random assortment of colors. What this means is that a female bluebird will only produce a clutch of eggs if she plans to use them all for herself.
Blue Bird Eggs watchers have noticed an interesting phenomenon: the eggs in a certain clutch are more likely to have the same hue as one another than the eggs in a different clutch.
Why Do Most Bluebird Eggs Turn Out To Be Blue
According to legend, Blue Bird Eggs are a distinctive shade of powder blue. The eggs have been described as blue-green by some observers.
No matter how you characterize them, the blue hue of the eggs is the consequence of biliverdin being deposited on the shell. Female birds deposit their shells via a special gland in their genitalia.
Thus, the amount of biliverdin in the shell is precisely proportional to the hue of the egg. For instance, the biliverdin pigment biliverdin is absent or very low in white eggs. But blue eggs are exceptional sources of biliverdin due to their high levels of this compound.
Are All Bluebird Eggs Blue
The typical color of a Blue Bird Eggs is blue. It is possible, however, for females to deposit pink or white eggs.
In addition, there is a wide range of shades of blue seen in bird nestlings. Individual bluebirds do deposit eggs that vary in size and hue from those of other birds of the same species.
Bluebirds exhibit egg color polymorphism, which refers to the presence of a range of distinct hues in the species’ eggshells.
Color polymorphism, as was just explained, holds true within a given clutch. Hence, if a female lays a single blue (or white, or pink) egg, the rest of her clutch will also be blue (or white, or pink).
Therefore, color polymorphism is very likely to be maintained from one clutch to the next. If a female bird has a successful first clutch of blue (or white, or pink) eggs, she is more likely to have another successful clutch of the same color.
What Does The Blue Color Of Bluebird Eggs Mean
Genetics is the most likely cause, however other variables may affect Blue Bird Eggs color.
Biliverdin accumulates in eggshells in healthy birds. Hence, egg coloring may indicate female bird health during egg-laying.
Biliverdin-colored eggs indicate bluebird hen health. Hence, bird age, condition, and laying order impact egg coloring. True, older birds in good condition lay more colorful eggs later.
Based on the foregoing, some bluebird watchers believe the blue color indicates the female bird’s genetic value or bodily condition to male birds.
Bluebird females may distinguish their eggs from conspecific brood parasite eggs according to egg coloring. Bluebirds, obligatory secondary cavity nesters, sometimes fight over nest locations. Hence, females may utilize their colorful eggs to distinguish theirs from other birds’.
Female Bluebirds Lay How Many Eggs
A female bluebird typically lays four to five eggs. Bluebird clutches average two to eight eggs, depending on species.
Eastern Blue Bird Eggs may range from two to seven. Western bluebirds usually lay two to eight eggs. Mountain bluebird nests lay four to eight eggs. Hence, species-specific.
Bluebirds may have many broods. Eastern bluebird females may lay three eggs each year. Western bluebirds are the same. Mountain Blue Bird Eggs usually have two broods.
When Does A Bluebird Lay Eggs
As a general rule, Blue Bird Eggs in the southern United States of America begin their nesting season in the months of February and March. Bluebirds often begin laying eggs in the northern climes in the months of March and April.
The female bluebird wastes little time getting down to business once spring comes, and that means laying her eggs. As a matter of fact, that is not how it works. Yet, she must immediately start constructing her nest.
Is it possible for a bluebird to produce eggs of a different color
It’s true that Blue Bird Eggs sometimes lay brown eggs. A bluebird could sometimes produce white eggs. When the female bluebird produces eggs, they are usually blue, but sometimes they are pink.
A clutch’s clashing colors won’t repeat themselves. Every of a female bird’s eggs will share the same hue if she lays powder-blue bird eggs.
A similar argument may be made for eating egg whites. If even one of the eggs in the nest is white, the whole nest will be white. The whole nest will be full with pink eggs if there is even one pink egg.
What Color Are Bluebird Eggs & How Does It Provide UV Ray Protection
The hues seen in a bird’s egg are more than skin deep. To protect the developing chick from harmful ultraviolet light, Blue Bird Eggs are darker. Bluebird eggs can’t survive in the sun’s heat or light. It might disrupt incubation, which could have negative effects on the development of the hatchlings.
A very dark egg, for instance, may give better protection against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but it may also heat up too fast in direct sunlight, and the increased warmth can kill an unhatched chick, as stated by The Spruce.
