2867. Check the carton © Bruce Goodman 7 October 2023

I bought a dozen eggs. When I looked at them in my kitchen I was pretty sure that only one of them was a hen’s egg. I have used eggs all my life (haven’t most people?) and I can tell when an egg is not a hen’s egg. These eggs were cream coloured, slightly rounder than what I would expect from a hen’s egg, and slightly smaller. What they were I had no idea. They weren’t pigeon eggs. They weren’t small enough. Besides, I’m fairly sure the shells were a little soft, perhaps more like I have always imagined snake or turtle eggs to feel like. Curiosity got the better of me. The only thing for it was to hatch them out. There was a relatively cheap egg incubator for sale on line, large enough for a dozen eggs, and small enough to have on my kitchen bench. I ordered one and it arrived the following day. I set it up and placed the eleven strange eggs inside. A week passed. Two weeks. Three weeks. I was prepared to go for five weeks. During the fourth week they hatched! I don’t think I have ever been so disappointed in my whole life. They were the hatchlings of the now extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. What on earth would I want eleven Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers for? So I didn’t feed them. Quite quickly, without food and warmth, they succumbed. It certainly pays to check the egg carton when you buy. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story