Egg

What Is an Egg?

An egg is a special container that comes from many animals. Inside this container, a tiny baby animal starts to grow. This tiny baby is called an embryo. It stays safe inside the egg until it is ready to live on its own. Then, the baby animal breaks out of the egg. We call this hatching.

Many animals lay eggs, like birds, reptiles, and insects. Some birds, such as chickens, lay eggs with hard shells to protect the baby inside. These eggs often need to stay warm so the baby can grow properly.

For people, eggs are a popular food. You can find them on menus all over the world. Eggs also have a special meaning in stories and myths. They often represent new life and fresh starts. People sometimes decorate eggs, making them beautiful and colorful.

Fun Facts About Eggs

The largest egg ever found came from a whale shark, about 30 cm long. Whale shark eggs hatch inside the mother. The ostrich egg is the largest egg from any living bird, weighing about 1.5 kg. Some extinct birds and dinosaurs laid even larger eggs. The smallest bird egg comes from the bee hummingbird, measuring just 6.35 to 11.4 millimetres long.

Different animal groups have eggs that look and act in unique ways. Fish and amphibians often lay many small eggs in water. Some fish, like sharks, keep their eggs inside the mother’s body until they hatch. Birds lay eggs with hard shells to protect the baby inside. Mammals like the platypus are among the few that still lay eggs, while most mammals develop their young inside the mother’s body. Invertebrates, such as insects and spiders, also lay eggs, sometimes caring for their young in special ways.

Eggs in Our Lives

People have eaten eggs from birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish for thousands of years. The most common egg eaten today comes from chickens, usually ones that are not fertilized.

Eggs appear in stories and traditions around the world, often standing for new life and fresh starts. Many people decorate eggs, especially during holidays like Easter, when Easter eggs remind Christians of new life.

Egg collecting was once a popular hobby in some places, including among European Australians. People would carefully remove the baby inside the egg before keeping the shell. Now, many places have made it illegal to collect eggs from wild birds because it can harm rare species. Even so, some people still collect and trade eggs illegally. Because of these laws, old egg collections are now kept in museums. Museums like the Australian Museum have many egg collections that help scientists learn about birds.