From: Jack B.
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 15:26:00 EST
To: jmorton@mhs.mendocino.k12.ca.us
Subject: Birds

~ Dear Mr. Bagwell,
~ Haley would like to ask you two questions.
~ First, why do birds lay eggs instead of having babies like we do?
~ And second, what does the word "bird" really mean and where does it come from?
~ Like balde in bald eagle meant white in Old English.
~ Thanks for your answers.
~ Jessica Morton

Haley,

These are very good questions!

An egg is basically a self-contained system which supports the developing baby
bird. The baby bird which is developing inside the egg feeds of the egg yolk.
The baby bird continues to grow until it is ready to break out of the egg.
Mother birds can lay as many as 4 or 5 eggs over several days time. Eggs add a
lot of weight to the mother bird. Just think, if she were carrying around 4 or
5 developing babies how much weight that would add to her. It would make it
very
hard for her to fly, and a bird that cannot fly is asking for problems.
Some mother birds get the father birds to help in incubation (sitting on the
eggs to keep then warm). If the mother kept the eggs inside her all the time
she would not be able to let the father bird help her.