Thanks David,
No, no-one responded except yourself and I appreciate the info.
I must admit I've always been a bit cynical reading that they (or other
swift sp) sleep on the wing. I believe there is a school of thought (?)
scientific fact (?) that some birds - snipe, ducks, waders? - sleep with
one eye open and their brain takes turns resting, one side at a time.
I'm sure we've all seen flocks of waders roosting and one eye flicking,
watching constantly, even when the bill is under the wing and, to all
intents and purposes, the birds appear asleep.I guess this would help
explain the theory (?) fact (?) that swifts can, if they choose, sleep
on the wing. Maybe other birds such as long distance migrants - Artic
Terns, Godwits, Stints - also take advantage of this "skill"?
Albatrosses, shearwaters too ?
I wish I could, although putting half of what's left of MY brain to
sleep might be
dangerous......!!
HAVEAGOODCHRISTMAS.
On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 08:56:33 +1100,
said:
> Colin wrote "To think these birds may not land for 9 months of the year?
> Is this
> realistic? Wow!"
>
> As no-one appears to have replied publicly. Swifts do land in order to
> sleep at night. I've seen Needletails coming into to roost in Goonoo
> State Forest (about 50km north-north east of Dubbo) at dusk. I don't
> recall the precise reference but there was a radio-tracking study on a
> couple of needletails years ago that plotted their daily movements,
> including roosting sites on a forested ridge. Someone out there may be
> able to give the precise details.
>
> By the way, for Mike's benefit mainly, a lone White-throated Needtail
> seen
> foraging at tree top level in Goonoo State Forest (45 km from Dubbo) on
> Wednesday midday (22 December). Area dominated by large high pressure
> system hence clear skies and hot.
>
> Cheers
>
> David Geering
> Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
> Department of Environment & Conservation
> P.O. Box 2111
> Dubbo NSW 2830
> Ph: 02 6883 5335 or Freecall 1800 621 056
> Fax: 02 6884 9382
>
>
>
> This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain
> confidential information.
>
> If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and then
> delete the message. Views expressed in this message may be those of the
> individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of the NSW
> Department of Environment and Conservation.
>
--
Colin Reid
So many birds, so little time......
--------------------------------------------
Birding-Aus is now on the Web at
www.birding-aus.org
--------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message 'unsubscribe
birding-aus' (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
