ocr: STAGGERED HATCHING FEMALE BIRD CAN take several days A - to lay a clutch of eggs. Most birds do not start to incubate until the clutch is complete. But owls and birds of prey often begin incubating right away. This produces staggered hatching - the eggs hatch in the order in which they were laid. If food is short, the first chick may survive, but its nest mates are likely to starve. Without staggered hatching, all of them might die. A HEAD START These tan wny owl chicks batched several days apart. Beca HSE it is bigger and stronger, the older onel gets a larger share ofthe food, and is m ore l ...
