Religion & Law

Found in the Warren

By John Pieret

Here's a perfect note for this day of egg-bearing Leporidae.

The University of Cambridge's zoology museum has come across a long-forgotten egg that Charles Darwin collected during his famous voyage on the Beagle. The 4.7-centimeter-long egg (left), from a partridge-like bird, is cracked: "The great man put it into too small a box, and hence its unhappy state," according to records found with it.

"It's the only egg that we know for sure was collected by Darwin," even though he collected eggs and nests from at least 16 types of birds on his travels, says museum Director Michael Akam.

Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on April 12, 2009 (boomark / email).