Animals that lay eggs are also called oviparous animals. Examples include birds, turtles, ostriches, and alligators.
There are many different animals that lay eggs. Chickens, for example, lay eggs on a regular basis. There are also birds like the ostrich and emu who both lay eggs to produce offspring.
One of the more interesting animals that lay eggs is called an echidna (also known as spiny anteater).
Examples of Animals that Lay Eggs
Animals that lay eggs need the right conditions to produce and lay eggs. This is because they rely on their environment for a lot of things during pregnancy, such as nesting sites, food sources, and protection from predators.
Some examples of animals that lay eggs include:
1. Ants
| Scientific Name | Formicidae |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Ants eat a variety of food and live almost anywhere. Most species are omnivorous, but some feed on nectar or tree sap. The majority of ants nest in soil, leaf litter, or under rocks, although other species build nests in trees (Oecophylla) or stalks (Camponotus).
Ant colonies can be found in all terrestrial habitats, from deserts and alpine meadows to rainforest and the Antarctic.
2. Bedbugs
| Scientific Name | Cimex |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Herbivore |
Bedbugs are not creatures that live in our bed, but they do love to lay their eggs there. They eat blood and survive on the food of humans whether it is animal or human blood.
Bedbugs like to make nests where humans sleep because this is where they get their food.
It’s typically hard to find a bedbug nest because they are usually hidden in the seams of mattresses, bedding, and furniture.
3. Bees
| Scientific Name | Anthophila |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Bees eat pollen and nectar. They live in hives made of wax, which they create using the honeycomb cells that line their nests.
The queen bee lays eggs inside these cell structures, where her young are incubated by worker bees until they emerge as adult bees capable of pollinating flowers to provide more food for the hive.
4. Butterflies
| Scientific Name | Rhopalocera |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Herbivore |
Butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves and flowers of plants. The eggs are usually very small and often have a flat appearance.
Most butterflies lay their eggs in bunches called clusters so that they do not get washed away by rain.
5. Cabbage Aphids
| Scientific Name | Brevicoryne brassicae |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Herbivore |
Cabbage Aphids lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves. They also live in colonies and feed off plants, excreting a sticky substance known as honeydew which makes them attractive to ants looking for food.
6. Chameleons
| Scientific Name | Chamaeleonidae |
| Type of Animal | Reptile |
| Range | Africa, Madagascar, southern Europe, and southern Asia |
| Diet | Omnivore |
A female chameleon won’t deposit her eggs anywhere. She will select a remote, damp dirt location in the wild, dig a hole, lay her eggs carefully, then meticulously bury them before departing.
7. Chickens
| Scientific Name | Gallus gallus domesticus |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Most chickens will start laying around five months old, but smaller breeds usually mature faster than bigger ones so they may begin to lay sooner. A chicken typically lays an egg every 24 hours.
Chickens lay their eggs inside a nest that they have built-in an area where no other animals can disturb them.
8. Clownfish
| Scientific Name | Amphiprioninae |
| Type of Animal | Fish |
| Range | The Red Sea and Pacific Oceans |
| Diet | Omnivore |
A clownfish can lay eggs in a few different ways. The most common way is through broadcast spawning, which means the female releases her eggs and the male sperm simultaneously into a nest on a reef where currents will help disperse them.
This usually allows for fertilization to happen outside of the body. Clownfish can also lay eggs internally, where the female will collect them and lay her own egg pouch around them before attaching it to a rock or coral reef. She may even attach multiple clusters of eggs at once!
9. Cockroaches
| Scientific Name | Blattodea |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Cockroaches lay their eggs in capsules, called oothecae. A female cockroach incubates the egg capsule for between 24 and 38 days before hatching occurs.
Depending on species and environmental conditions (for example, temperature), it can take up to 400 days for an egg to develop into a young adult roach that is capable of reproducing.
10. Crocodiles
| Scientific Name | Crocodylinae |
| Type of Animal | Reptile |
| Range | Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia |
| Diet | Carnivore |
The female crocodile lays her eggs on the ground. She covers them with sand to protect them then leaves, only returning once they hatch between 80 and 90 days.
The mother alligator also builds a nest and guards it before leaving for several months until they eggs hatch.
11. Dragonflies
| Scientific Name | Anisoptera |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Carnivore |
A dragonfly lay their eggs in the water – usually fresh-water. They can be found all around the world, but especially where there’s a warmer climate and lots of vegetation for them to breed on.
They are often laid on plants or other things that float, and they attach themselves with a sticky coating to make sure they do not wash away.
12. Ducks
| Scientific Name | Anas platyrhynchos |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The very first thing to know about how a duck lays her eggs is that they are not as similar as you might think. In fact, there are actually six different kinds of female ducks who can lay their eggs in two distinct ways: either on land or water.
13. Eagles
| Scientific Name | Haliaeetus albicilla |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Asia, northern Africa, and Europe |
| Diet | Carnivore |
There are about 68 species of eagles in the world and they all lay eggs. They lay one egg every two to three days during a breeding period depending on the location, time of year, and surrounding conditions such as weather or food supply. One female may produce one or two eggs per season.
14. Emu
| Scientific Name | Dromaius novaehollandiae |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Australia |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The emu (the second largest bird in the world) lays her eggs after about 35 days of pregnancy. The average number of eggs that she has is between 15 and 30, with an incubation period of 46 to 56 days.
A little over a month before they are ready to hatch, you will start seeing cracks in their eggshells.
The shell of the egg will be flexible and it becomes very easy for them to break out of their eggs with a little help from mommy emu, who is always there to assist in this process.
15. Falcons
| Scientific Name | Falco |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Carnivore |
The eggs of a falcon are usually white in color. They come out shaped like an oval, and they have smooth shells that can be easily broken.
A female falcon will lay one egg every two days, and there is a total of four to 3 to 4 eggs in one clutch.
16. Frogs
| Scientific Name | Anura |
| Type of Animal | Reptile |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Carnivore |
A frog lays her eggs in water. She goes to a quiet pond and finds an area of deep, still water where she can lay her eggs without them drying out or being eaten by predators like fish. As the frog leaves after laying her eggs, you might see some clear jelly-like spheres on top of the water near where she was. These are frog eggs.
18. Grasshoppers
| Scientific Name | Caelifera |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Herbivore |
A grasshopper lays her eggs by digging a hole, laying the eggs inside, and burying them. She may lay as many as 100 at one time.
18. Hawks
| Scientific Name | Buteo |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Carnivore |
A hawk will choose a nest to lay her eggs in. The female lays the egg and then sits on it for about 35 days while it incubates. She starts with one or two eggs at first but usually lays three more within 24 hours of laying the initial ones. This process happens over many days until she has anywhere from five to seven eggs.
19. Hummingbirds
| Scientific Name | Trochilidae |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | South America and Chille |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The mother hummingbird begins her nesting process by choosing the perfect branch to lay her eggs on. Once she has found a suitable location, she will begin building an actual nest out of soft green mosses and lichens that are pulled off nearby vegetation.
The female bird works tirelessly for several days before laying anywhere from one to two small white eggs.
20. Kingfishers
| Scientific Name | Alcedinidae |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Australia, Asia, and Africa |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The kingfisher is a common bird that lives around the world. She has adapted to live in many different habitats such as marshy areas, streams, and marshes. The female lays her eggs in the holes she creates with her beak.
21. Ladybugs
| Scientific Name | Coccinellidae |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
A ladybug lays eggs on the underside of a leaf. The larvae hatch after about 2 to 10 days and make their way to the ground where they feed on aphids. They spend most of this time in an inactive state called larval diapause before transforming into adult beetles.
22. Lizards
| Scientific Name | Lacertilia |
| Type of Animal | Reptile |
| Range | Every continent except Antarctica |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Lizards lay eggs in the same way as birds do. They have a special reproductive organ called oviduct, which will transport and store the egg until it is ready to be laid.
The ovary of lizard also produces yolk – a cellular substance that provides nutrients for developing embryos – just like mammals’ placenta does
23. Mola-Mola
| Scientific Name | Mola mola |
| Type of Animal | Fish |
| Range | Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The Mola Mola can lay the most eggs of any vertebrate, with an estimated 300 million at once. Although this is a lot of eggs these eggs are tiny and unlikely to survive.
24. Mosquitoes
| Scientific Name | Culicidae |
| Type of Animal | Insect |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Herbivore |
The female mosquito lays her eggs in water. The average number of eggs laid by a female mosquito is between 100 – 200 depending on what species she belongs to.
25. Ostrich
| Scientific Name | Struthio camelus |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Africa |
| Diet | Herbivore |
Ostriches lay their eggs in a hole that they dig and then cover-up. They can lay as many as 50 large, white eggs! Once the egg is laid, it takes about 36-45 days for the baby ostrich to hatch.
26. Osprey
| Scientific Name | Pandion haliaetus |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Everywhere except Antarctica |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Osprey is one of the most famous animals that lay eggs. They build large nests high in trees and usually choose one to make their nest on. The female osprey will use twigs, branches, grasses, or even trash to create a sturdy base for her eggs.
She can lay up to three eggs at a time and she will sit on them for an average of 38 days to incubate.
27. Owls
| Scientific Name | Strigiformes |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Everywhere except Antarctica |
| Diet | Carnivore |
The owl does not construct its own nest. Instead, it takes over the nests of hawks, crows, ospreys, squirrels, and bald eagles.
Depending on the species and also the season, owls may lay 1 to 13 eggs. For most species, three or four are typical.
28. Platypus
| Scientific Name | Ornithorhynchus anatinus |
| Type of Animal | Mammal |
| Range | Eastern Australia |
| Diet | Carnivore |
It is one of only two species (the echidna being the other) that lays eggs. To lay their eggs, females seal themselves inside one of the tunnels’ chambers. A mother usually lays one or two eggs and keeps them warm by cupping them between her body and tail.
29. Seahorses
| Scientific Name | Hippocampus |
| Type of Animal | Ray-finned fish |
| Range | Throughout the world |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Seahorses are one of the few fish that pair up to mate. The male seahorse will carry eggs in his pouch until they hatch, which is about 24 days.
30. Sharks
| Scientific Name | Selachimorpha |
| Type of Animal | Fish |
| Range | All five of the Earth’s oceans |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Only 30% of sharks lay eggs the rest all give birth to live young. The female shark has an organ called the ovipositor, which is used to transfer her eggs from inside her body into a tough bag that protects and helps to keep the eggs together. The male then fertilizes the eggs inside this protective sheath.
31. Snails
| Scientific Name | Gastropoda |
| Type of Animal | Mollusk |
| Range | Throughout the world |
| Diet | Herbivorous, Carnivorous, Omnivorous, and Detritivorous |
The Snails reproductive organs are located behind her eyes. She releases her eggs into a small pit that she digs in the soil.
32. Spiny-Anteaters (Echidnas)
| Scientific Name | Tachyglossidae |
| Type of Animal | Mammal |
| Range | Australia |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The female of the spiny-anteaters will only lay one egg a year. After she has laid the egg she places it in a pouch she only develops during the breeding season.
33. Turtles
| Scientific Name | Testudines |
| Type of Animal | Reptile |
| Range | All Over The World |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Turtles lay their eggs on land. Unlike sea turtles, most freshwater and terrestrial species nest individually. In some of the large turtle species, it may take over two hours for the female to dig a hole deep enough so that her eggs will not be damaged by the heat of the sun or predators.
34. Vultures
| Scientific Name | Cathartes aura |
| Type of Animal | Bird |
| Range | Everywhere in the world, except for Australia and Antarctica |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Vultures, like other birds, lay their eggs in a nest. Vulture nests are very large and bulky and may be constructed of sticks (in rocky areas), foliage or manure picked up from within the range.
They lay between 1 – 3 eggs and these eggs hatch in between 32 to 45 days.
Other Animals that Lay Eggs
Other animals that lay eggs include:
- Platypus
- Geese
- Ball Pythons
- Kingsnakes
- Parrots
Hi, I’m Garreth. Living in South Africa I’ve had the pleasure of seeing most of these animals up close and personal. When I was younger I always wanted to be a game ranger but unfortunately, life happens and now at least I get to write about them and tell you my experiences.