The tinamou egg in Darwin's collection is an egg of the

tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...

species and is the only

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

left in Darwin's collections during his

HMS Beagle HMS ''Beagle'' was a 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803 (roughly equivalent to £ in 2018), was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on t ...

voyage. The egg has a large crack because Darwin put it in a box too small for it. It was rediscovered by volunteer Liz Wetton in February 2009, the 200th year of Darwin's birth, while she was sorting the egg collection in the zoology museum at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

.Charles Darwin's egg rediscovered
''BBC News''. Retrieved 21 September 2013

References

Charles Darwin Eggs {{sci-hist-stub