Royal Saskatchewan Museum launches online bird egg database
The Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina has launched a website featuring bird egg photographs for more than 300 species that nest in Canada.
Ryan Fisher, the museum's curator of vertebrate zoology, said the idea for the database came after staff found there was very little information on bird eggs in Canada.
"We kind of first started by taking a look at what was out there and there's a couple of amazing reference books that are available to help you identify bird eggs," he told CBC Radio's The Morning Edition host Stefani Langenegger.
"It's kind of hard to carry a book around with you when you're out looking for birds."
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Fisher said there weren't really any online resources, so they decided to fill that gap.
"One of the things that wasn't available previously is to really be able to compare across different birds, have those measurements there and really be able to get a good look at the coloration," he said.
The project started in 2021 by getting pictures of all the eggs in the collection at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, but Fisher said they realized they "weren't even close" to having all the breeding birds in the country.
The website shows the size and coloration of a Canadian goose egg. (birdeggsofcanada.ca)
Staff next went to the Royal Alberta Museum to photograph their collection, then the University of Saskatchewan, which also has "an amazing egg collection," Fisher said.
He said they are hoping to partner with other museums in Canada to add more bird eggs to the collection, and complete the database in the future.
This is more of a look-but-don't-touch approach to studying birds and their eggs.
"Almost all of the birds in Canada are protected by the Migratory Bird Act, which means that you're not allowed to possess nests; you're not allowed to harass nesting birds," said Fisher.
The website birdeggsofcanada.ca gives people the opportunity to safely learn more about the differences between bird eggs.
"The amount of diversity in bird eggs, size, and coloration is really amazing," said Fisher.
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