This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling. [2:43]

This article from the companion site to "The Life of Birds" by PBS is full of examples of parenting birds. There is astonishing variety in nest building, offspring rearing, care, and even manipulation and deceit.

This is the full text of the short story "Aepyornis Island" by H. G. Wells. It tells the story of a man who finds an egg from an extinct creature and hatches it.

This page has points on the major stages in the life cycle of millipedes. Check out this great resource!