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How to Identify Wild Bird Eggs

Birds build nests to keep their eggs warm and dry. They also camouflage their homes to hide them from predators. Whether you're an avid birder or just out for the occasional nature hike, you may be lucky enough to stumble upon a nest of wild bird eggs. If so, you might want to know what you're looking at.

Instructions

- 1
  Locate red cardinal nests in dense thickets a few feet off the ground. They generally lay 3 to 4 eggs between March and August. The eggs are white or pale green with brown or gray speckles.
- 2
  Look closely at a horizontal branch of a shade tree high off the ground. The walnut-sized may belong to the ruby throated hummingbird. The bean-sized eggs are generally found in pairs and are a plain white.
- 3
  Find a nest containing 7 to 8 pink eggs with reddish-brown spots and you may be looking at the eggs of a wild spruce grouse. If the eggs are olive with reddish-brown spots, they belong to a sage grouse.
- 4
  Take note of cup-shaped nests constructed from mud and grass. If they're filled with 3 to 5 smooth, glossy bright blue eggs, you've found wild robin eggs.
- 5
  Climb up into conifer trees and look for cup-shaped nests 20 feet or so off the ground. If you find bluish eggs with brown spots concentrated at the large end, you're looking at blue jay eggs.

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