this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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A emu egg (left) next to a cassowary egg (right). They are some of the largest bird eggs on the planet. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

Here is what I found:

  • The shell must be strong enough to support the egg’s weight and protect the embryo, but thin enough for the chick to break through when hatching.
  • As size increases, the weight grows cubically (volume), but shell strength only increases quadratically (surface area), so there’s a point where the shell would have to be too thick to hatch from.
  • The distance from the shell to the center increases.
  • Oxygen diffusion becomes inefficient, and the embryo could suffocate.
  • Larger eggs are harder to keep at a uniform temperature.
  • Birds incubating the eggs would need to generate and distribute more heat, which is physically demanding.