This review brings together the available literature that examines the effect of variations in pigmentation on the water vapour conductance of avian eggshells. Pheasant and Houbara bustard eggs provide some evidence that shell abnormalities can impact upon colour and water vapour conductance. By contrast, data from wild birds suggest that neither the degree of maculation or intensity of background colour impact upon conductance. Those studies that purport to show variation in rates of water loss in eggs with different degrees of pigmentation may have been confounded by variation in natural nesting conditions. This emerging field of research remains very much in its infancy.
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