The Shy | 台北市立動物園資訊網

2014年12月22日—Unlikemostbirds,maletinamoustakesoleresponsibilityforegg-incubatingduties,andasinglenestmightcontaineggsfromseveralfemales.

When it comes to shell color, most birds’ eggs conform to one of four motifs: colored with spots, colored without spots, white with spots or pure white.

But there is a striking exception: the eggs of the tinamou, a shy, ground-dwelling bird native to South and Central America. Tinamous, which look something like a cross between a guinea hen and a roadrunner, blend in with their forest environment by sporting drab plumage in shades of brown and gray. But they produce some of the most spectacular eggshells in the world, in colors like sky blue, lime green and rich chocolate and so glossy that they can reflect overhead trees and brush.

Now a study[1] in The Journal of the Royal Society Interface takes a close look at the tinamou eggs and finds that they possess a unique ...