I was expecting it to happen so I set my alarm clock early and captured it on video. You can see the bird breathing heavily and sometimes opening her beak. I think the moment when she elevates her body (around 2:25) is the actual egg-laying moment. After a few seconds recovery she checks the egg. Then she starts looking a lot more comfortable.
27 April 2012 5:54am
About 5 minutes after laying the egg, I could see her again sitting still and starting to make some kind of heavy breathing movement that went on for about 1 minute. See video below:
Movements 5 minutes after laying the egg, 27 April 2012 6:01am
I have seen her doing the same thing yesterday morning, although then she had not laid an egg. I was wondering if perhaps this is related to the movement of the embryo towards to the organ where the albumen and egg shell is formed. It would explain why I saw the same thing yesterday morning around the same time, about 24 hours before the first egg was produced. But of course I’m just speculating here and would appreciate insight from somebody with real knowledge on this matter.
Brilliant! Don't worry - I shan't go poking and prying in the vicinity. How long until the big break?
ReplyDeleteNot sure, but I guess about 8 more eggs to go (one egg per day) and then 13-15 days incubating the eggs.
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