USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Whooping Crane Hatching Countdown

COUNTDOWN: HATCH DAY - 2
IN TWO DAYS, THIS EGG BECOMES A WHOOPING CRANE!

In 2 days, this egg becomes a whooping crane!
Photo by Nelson Beyer, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

To see drawing of how bird is positioned inside egg, click .

The first stage of hatching isn't obvious. That's when the chick breaks through the air cell in the large end of the egg and begins to breathe and make sounds. The next stage happens after the chick chips away at the inside of the egg, finally breaking through the shell. The break is a small star-shaped crack called a "star pip." It takes so much energy for the chick to make the star pip that he usually will rest for at least 24 hours before beginning the next stage of hatching.

Cool Facts:

The splotchy color of the egg provides natural camouflage against the russet colors of the nest. This helps keep it safe from predators.
In the wild, whoopers normally lay 2 eggs but usually only one chick survives.
At Patuxent, whoopers lay more than 2 eggs, enabling us to produce more chicks for release.

See this page for more cool facts each day.
Click on for sound of chick inside egg that is pipped.

Click here to ask questions about our chick or Patuxent's crane program.

Hatch Day (Click on numbered links to view other egg (negative numbers) and chick days).

-4

-3

-2

-1

To check on updates after day 14, go to whooper's home.

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey,
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA
URL http://whoopers.usgs.gov

Contact: Jonathan Male
Last Modification: 14-June-2000@15:14 (edt)
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