Tim Dolby wrote:
>
> In the case of the Blackbird, the act of calling at night is a bit of a catch
> 22 - falling into the trap of Darwinian theory.
>
> The male Blackbird calls into the night as part of defining it territory,
> with the most dominant males controlling the largest area. The dilemma is
> that the act of calling places great stress on the bird (lack of sleep, loss
> of time to eat etc), consequently increasing the chances that it will lose it
> strength and dominance and therefore be replace by another male.
>
> (Reference: see Beatles 'White Album', 1968, Apple Records)
>
> In regards to birds sleeping on the wing (ie Spine-tailed Swift) - and the
> fact that they can spend inordinate periods of time (years) with out landing
> - I also would be interested to hear a reply.
>
> Tim
>
> Note:
>
> Blackbird
> (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
> Lead Vocal: Paul McCartney
>
> Blackbird singing in the dead of night
> Take these broken wings and learn to fly
> All your life
> You were only waiting for this moment to arise
>
> Blackbird singing in the dead of night
> Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
> All your life
> You were only waiting for this moment to be free
>
> Blackbird fly
> Blackbird fly
> Into the light of the dark black night
>
> Blackbird fly
> Blackbird fly
> Into the light of the dark black night
>
> Blackbird singing in the dead of night
> Take these broken wings and learn to fly
> All your life
> You were only waiting for this moment to arise
> You were only waiting for this moment to arise
> You were only waiting for this moment to arise
> This started me wondering about migrating sea birds - I think I
> read somewhere that they can, er, 'cat-nap' on the wing. Is this
> correct? Do birds sleep so lightly that they have catch-up naps
> all through the day or night? Help!!!
Birds can apparently sleep with one eye open, and half of their
brain awake. An article about this can be found at:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9902/03/birds.eye/index.html
Whether they can sleep/half-sleep and fly at the same time isn't
clear from the article, but may be possible since dolphins can
sleep and swim to the surface to breathe via a similar mechanism.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Paul Taylor Veni, vidi, tici -
I came, I saw, I ticked.
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