By . Daily Mail Reporter . The world's oldest egg - belonging to an extinct ostrich-like bird - is expected to raise a staggering £50,000 at auction. The rare item is over 500 years old and is just one of a handful of undamaged eggs left by the extinct elephant bird, once native to the island of Madagascar. At over a foot in length, it's larger than seven ostrich eggs and the equivalent in size to an astonishing 100 hens' eggs. The giant egg belongs to an extinct ostrich-like bird and should raise in the region of £50,000 at auction . Set to be auctioned at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, West Sussex, it is thought to be the only one in the world up for private sale. Curator Errol Fuller, who has written several books on rare extinct birds, said: 'The egg of one of these birds is simply a miracle. 'It comes from Madagascar and these birds became extinct in around 1600, so it must be more than 500 years-old. 'There are probably only about 60 or 70 in existence in the world and almost all of them are owned by museums so to see one of for private sale is very rare. 'It is the largest egg ever known - bigger than any known dinosaur egg. Errol Fuller, pictured, said the egg which was laid in Madagascar is at least 500 years old . 'Engineers have calculated that structurally and functionally it is impossible for an egg to be any larger. 'Sometimes the eggs are found buried in the sand semi-fossilised but this one had been used as a water container as it is hollow and was handed down from generation to generation. 'It's much tougher than a chicken egg, but they can still get broken. Thankfully, this one is perfectly intact.' The egg will be part of the 'Evolution Sale' - a sale of specialist natural history artefacts on November 26. Also on sale will be a stuffed 100-year-old extinct passenger pigeon which is expected to sell for between £4,000 and £6,000. Other unusual taxidermy include a tiger's head in a case and a 'unicorn' created from a horse, a narwal tusk and a bear skeleton.
The egg is about one foot long and is the same size of 100 hens' eggs .
The massive egg was laid in Madagascar more than 500 years ago .
It is believed to be the largest ever egg, greater in size than a dinosaur's .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . The world's oldest egg - belonging to an extinct ostrich-like bird - is expected to raise a staggering £50,000 at auction. The rare item is over 500 years old and is just one of a handful of undamaged eggs left by the extinct elephant bird, once native to the island of Madagascar. At over a foot in length, it's larger than seven ostrich eggs and the equivalent in size to an astonishing 100 hens' eggs. The giant egg belongs to an extinct ostrich-like bird and should raise in the region of £50,000 at auction . Set to be auctioned at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, West Sussex, it is thought to be the only one in the world up for private sale. Curator Errol Fuller, who has written several books on rare extinct birds, said: 'The egg of one of these birds is simply a miracle. 'It comes from Madagascar and these birds became extinct in around 1600, so it must be more than 500 years-old. 'There are probably only about 60 or 70 in existence in the world and almost all of them are owned by museums so to see one of for private sale is very rare. 'It is the largest egg ever known - bigger than any known dinosaur egg. Errol Fuller, pictured, said the egg which was laid in Madagascar is at least 500 years old . 'Engineers have calculated that structurally and functionally it is impossible for an egg to be any larger. 'Sometimes the eggs are found buried in the sand semi-fossilised but this one had been used as a water container as it is hollow and was handed down from generation to generation. 'It's much tougher than a chicken egg, but they can still get broken. Thankfully, this one is perfectly intact.' The egg will be part of the 'Evolution Sale' - a sale of specialist natural history artefacts on November 26. Also on sale will be a stuffed 100-year-old extinct passenger pigeon which is expected to sell for between £4,000 and £6,000. Other unusual taxidermy include a tiger's head in a case and a 'unicorn' created from a horse, a narwal tusk and a bear skeleton.
equivalent in size to an astonishing 100 hens' birds, said: 'The egg of one of these birds is must be more than 500 years-old. 'There are 'It is the largest egg ever known - bigger than said the egg which was laid in Madagascar is at