(NB The original article is well illustrated - best to go to that.)
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2011/08/01/sunbathing-birds/?WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_EVO_20110801
Sunbathing birds
By Darren Naish | August 1, 2011 | 2
A few weeks ago, I and the family visited Birdworld in Alice Holt Forest,
Surrey (UK). We had a great time and saw a lot of neat birds. It was a
scorching hot, very sunny day, and the reason I'm writing this article is
because I became particularly interested in the many, many sunbathing birds
I saw that day. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely familiar with the fact
that birds often engage in sunbathing behaviour, and indeed I've often
watched Blackbirds Turdus merula and other familiar species do it in my own
garden. But I've never seen so many species, belonging to so many diverse
groups, sunbathing within such a short span of time. I took photos where
possible, so consider this article a brief guide to sunbathing postures in
birds.
To those academically interested, note that there's a fairly extensive
literature on sunbathing in birds and on the groups that practise it, on the
postures they adopt, and on the function it might have (e.g., Hauser 1957,
Kennedy 1969, Horsfall 1984, Simmons 1986).
For previous Tet Zoo articles on various bits of poorly known behaviour
practised by birds, see.
a.. Sleep behaviour and sleep postures
b.. Passerine birds fight dirty, a la Velociraptor
c.. Dead baby birds: why here, why now?
d.. Heron tries to swallow giant lamprey. Chokes. Dies. Second heron tries
same trick. Also chokes. Also dies.
e.. Clam attacks and kills oystercatcher
f.. Using an eagle to catch and kill a wolf
g.. Birds vs planes II
h.. Now I know where my sparrows go to sleep
Refs - -
Blem, C. R. & Blem, L. B. 1992. Some observations of sunbathing in swallows.
Journal of Field Ornithology 63, 53-56.
Curry-Lindahl, K. 1970. Spread-wing postures in Pelecaniformes and
Ciconiiformes. The Auk 87, 371-372 .
Goodwin, D. 1967. Some possible functions of sun-bathing in birds. British
Birds 60, 363-364.
Hauser, D. 1957. Some observations on sunbathing in birds. Wilson Bulletin
69, 78-90.
Horsfall, J. 1984. Sunbathing: is it for the birds? New Scientist 103
(1420), 28-31.
Jehl, J. R. 1985. Leucism in Eared Grebes in western North America. The
Condor 87, 439-441.
Johnston, R. F. 1965. Sunbathing by birds. The Emu 64, 325-326.
Kahl, M. P. 1971. Spread-wing postures and their possible functions in the
Ciconiidae. The Auk 88, 715-722.
Kilham, L. 1981. Sunbathing Vermilion-crowned flycatchers repulse mates. The
Auk 98, 839.
Kennedy, R. J. 1968. The role of sunbathing in birds. British Birds 61,
320-332.
- . 1969. Sunbathing behaviour of birds. British Birds 62, 249-258
Mueller, H. C. 1972. Sunbathing in birds. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie
30, 253-258.
Nicolai, J. 1962. Uber Regen-, Sonnen- und Staubbaden bei Tauben
(Columbidae). Journal of Ornithology 103, 125-139.
Simmons, K. E. L. 1986. The Sunning Behaviour of Birds. Short Run Press,
Ltd., Exeter (UK).
Storer, R. W., Siegfried, W. R. & Kinahan, J. 1976. Sunbathing in grebes.
Living Bird 15, 45-58.
About the Author: Darren Naish is a science writer, technical editor and
palaeozoologist (affiliated with the University of Portsmouth, UK). He
mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs but has an avid interest
in all things tetrapod. He has been blogging at Tetrapod Zoology since 2006.
Follow on Twitter @TetZoo.
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of
Scientific American
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