"At least I was born, rather than hatched, reptile."

The grammatical structure "At least I was born, rather than hatched, reptile," if written in full form, would be "At least I was born reptile, rather than hatched reptile."

But it is apparent that what the speaker wanted to express is "At least I was born human, rather than hatched reptile."

Unless the speaker's logic is so peculiar as to be proud of being born reptile. Why is being"born reptile" better than being "hatched reptile", can you figure it out? (My simple guess is that on the evolutionary tree, being born is more advanced than being hatched. Just a guess)

Thanks in anticipation.

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