Book
The most perfect thing : inside (and outside) a bird's egg / Tim Birkhead.
"Renowned ornithologist Tim Birkhead opens this gripping story as a female guillemot chick hatches, already carrying her full quota of tiny eggs within her undeveloped ovary. As she grows into adulthood, only a few of her eggs mature, are released into the oviduct, and are fertilized by sperm stored from copulation that took place days or weeks earlier. Within a matter of hours, the fragile yolk is surrounded by albumen and the whole is gradually encased within a turquoise jewel of a shell. Soon afterward the fully formed egg is expelled onto a bare rocky ledge, where it will be incubated for four weeks before a chick emerges and the life cycle begins again."--Provided by the publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781632863690
- Physical Description: xvi, 288 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 22 cm
- Edition: First U.S. edition.
- Publisher: New York : Bloomsbury, 2016.
- Copyright: ©2016.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Originally published: Great Britain, 2016. |
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-265) and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Climmers and collectors -- Making shells -- The shape of eggs -- Colouring eggs : how? -- Colouring eggs : why? -- Much ado about albumen : the microbe war -- Yolk, ovaries, and fertilisation -- Stupendious love : laying, incubation, and hatching -- Lupton's legacy. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Birds > Eggs. Birds > Embryology. Birds > Reproduction. |
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsons Public Library | 598.14 BIRK (Text) | 30886001018528 | Adult Nonfiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
