The egg is 0.275 inches long and weighs only 0.0009 ounces. The world’s smallest bird egg is laid by the world’s smallest bird – the bee hummingbird. An adult bee hummingbird rarely grows longer than 61 millimeters long. #12 Animals That Lay Eggs: What Bird Lays the Smallest Egg?Ī Bee Hummingbird sipping nectar.

Male hornbills use mud to seal the mother bird and her eggs into a hole in a tree, leaving only enough space through which to pass food! This keeps many predators from reaching the nest. Weaverbirds craft grasses into elaborate hanging structures to support their eggs. Some sea birds roost in colonies, with millions of parents caring for eggs that are laid on the ground. Different birds have wildly different methods for keeping eggs safe. The Most-Consistent Egg Layers: Birdsīirds are unique in that all known species lay eggs. We’ve compiled a list of animals that lay eggs and some amazing facts about each one. Eggs may be kept in a nest on the ground, a nest in a tree, or even inside the body of one of the parents! Some eggs are hard, while others are soft and squishy. Some animals mate before laying eggs, while in other species such as fish, males and females release gametes at the same time, and the eggs are fertilized in a medium such as water. Oviparous animals are those that reproduce by laying eggs.Įven among egg-layers, there are some differences and varieties. And many different types of animals have young that hatch from eggs. A few reproduce by budding – a new creature grows from a segment of the original animal. Some, like humans, give birth to live young. Sea turtles return to the same spot on the beach to lay eggs year after year, while seahorse eggs are cared for by a pouch in the male seahorse’s belly.Īnimals reproduce in different ways. Many animals exhibit fascinating and unusual behavior when they care for their eggs.Oviparous animals can produce eggs in all different sizes, from the tiny egg of the hummingbird to the massive egg of the ostrich.Some species produce large numbers of eggs at once, like spiders, corals, and amphibians.

Platypus lay eggs