Crested Terns holding their beaks open (South Coast)

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Very normal likely cooling mechanism. Most (all?) birds do this when too hot. Birds don't sweat. Though why they would need to do so on a relatively cool day I don't know. Maybe they have just come in from a long bout of exercise (flight).

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan McCaskill [
Sent: Thursday, 2 May 2013 5:44 PM
To: canberra birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Crested Terns holding their beaks open (South Coast)

I was at Mollymook the other day where I noticed a couple of Crested Terns resting on the beach holding their beaks open. Is this normal or are they ill? 

 

Google tells me that domestic birds get gapeworms which block their trachea making breathing difficult, but I can't find if terns get them.

Duncan.