WHY DO QUAIL EGGS HATCH AT THE SAME TIME?

Wild quail eggs in a nest.
Wild Quail eggs
Japanese quail (Coturnix Japonica)
Japanese quail (Coturnix Japonica)

Some quail species lay up to 8 eggs over a period of 8 days at a rate of one egg per day. Surprisingly, after 21 to 23 days of incubation, all eggs hatch within 6 hours.

If the eggs developed over a uniform rate, they would hatch one per day over an eight-day period. Why does that not happen? Scientists believe that chicks communicate with each other within the eggs and break out of the eggshells at the same time.

King Quail
King Quail
N113_Birds_3

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