I think I need to clarify about the robin that  dumped an egg an egg onto the ground.  She was NOT carrying the egg in her beak; she raised her tail and the egg came from her body.  I watched her land on the branch--she had nothing in her mouth.  I know this specifically because I was hearing a robin singing and I looked to see if it might be her.  It was not, her beak was shut.   She was only 20 to 30 feet from me and I was watching her through binoculars.  She definitely "laid" the egg herself, there just wasn't a nest there for her to deposit it in.  When I went to take a closer look (I could hardly believe I saw what I knew I saw), it was definitely a robin egg with very fresh yolk (I have seen lots of robin eggs, a robin would nest on our front porch almost every year for about 20 years or more).
So any thoughts on birds laying eggs where there is no nest or even anything solid underneath them?
Laura DornanLouisville

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