Some bird embryos know to hide from predators even inside their eggs

By Jake Buehler

The world is a dangerous place for young birds, but it seems that even as embryos, some can take measures to hide from hungry predators.

Late in their embryonic development, many bird species will communicate with their parents through the eggshell by chirping. Kristal Kostoglou at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, wanted to know if these talkative embryos already have the predator-avoiding instincts of hatched chicks, which hide and fall silent when threatened.

Kostoglou and her colleagues exposed the eggs of two Australian shorebird species – 56 red-capped plover (Charadrius ruficapillus) …