Expert: Roger Lederer - 6/4/2008

Question
hi,

I have found a bird's egg in a hanging basket by the back door, i havent noticed today that any birds have been around it or anything and i am curious as to what type of bird it may be? The egg is about 20mm long and about 15 mm wide so its quite big i dont want to disturb it too much but from what i can see there is only the one egg and it is almost pure white with maybe a few light speckles. Do birds regularly lay eggs in places like hanging baskets? Will the mother have just abandoned it now or may she come back? i dont really know a lot about birds so im not sure what to expect but it would be great if the egg did hatch. If you have any idea what it may be please get back to me.

Thanks for your help

Answer
I don't know where you live so I can only guess, but it could be a House Sparrow. Some birds do lay eggs in hanging baskets - I wouldn't say regularly, but it is not uncommon. They will typically lay 3-6 eggs before they start incubating them, so it is not unusual for the parents not to be around for awhile at this point. Or, she may have just laid one egg, decided she didn't like where she put it, and left. You'll have to keep observing to find out. See www.ornithology.com for more information on wild birds.