Bird eggs take varying amounts of time to hatch depending on the species, size, and environmental conditions. Generally:
- Small songbirds typically incubate their eggs for about 10 to 14 days before hatching
- Medium-sized birds like woodpeckers and pigeons usually take around 12 to 18 days
- Ducks and chickens have longer incubation periods, roughly 21 to 28 days
- Larger birds such as raptors (eagles, hawks, owls) may take between 30 to 50 days
- Very large seabirds like albatrosses can have incubation periods lasting up to 80 days or more
The incubation period is the time during which the parent bird keeps the eggs warm, usually by sitting on them, to allow the embryo to develop properly. Temperature and species-specific factors can influence the exact duration. For example, some birds start incubating after laying the last egg so all hatch simultaneously, while others begin immediately, causing eggs to hatch sequentially
. In summary, bird egg incubation times range broadly from about 10 days in small birds to over 80 days in the largest species, with most common birds falling between 10 and 30 days
