Modena Pigeon Breeding | The sunbathing Pigeon ⁴ᴷ

© 𝗡𝗣 2024 ⁴ᴷ
English Modena Schietti & Gazzi
𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗔 𝗣𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗡
Of course, birds need water for basic life functions, but why bathe? Does it make them smell better? Feel better? Look better? While those all may be true, the real reasons include their need to cool off in high temperatures. Birds do not have sweat glands, but they still lose water through their skin via evaporation, with smaller birds needing to hydrate more often due to their higher surface-to-body ratio because of this. Just like our sweat or water from a dip evaporates and cools us, water evaporates and cools birds.
Water also helps birds clean and maintain their feathers, because, while feathers are replaced, they’re not replenished with a frequency that allows birds to neglect their care. Good feathers are necessary for flight, insulation and waterproofing. Birds can’t get soaked, though, because that would impede their ability to fly and escape predators-which is probably why birds don’t linger in the bath. Further, bathing removes dirt, bacteria and parasites. Eww, right? That alone should be reason enough to change the water in your bird baths often, even daily.
To make your bird baths appealing, keep fresh water in them-which means scrubbing the algae, droppings and dirt out every few days. Water should be no more than three inches deep, and it’s best to taper to that depth. Because their hollow bones make them very buoyant, birds have to splash about, dipping and diving, like in dodgeball, to get water on their skin. Shallow pools help with that. Birds also seem to like texture in the bath, so it's best to add a few stones that they may step on or you can purchase a textured bath. A drip fountain or mister and the sound of water will attract birds, too. Place your bird bath in the shade to keep the water cooler and lessen algae growth and position it near shrubs or trees to which birds may escape or stop, preen and wipe their bill.
Finally, remember that birds need water year-round, and while they can “eat” snow, liquifying it could consume vital calories. Unless you're dedicated enough to replace the ice blocks that form in cold temps, consider investing in a heated bird bath. I have a thermostatically controlled outlet on mine that will kick on the heat when the air temperature falls below 8°C. The combination of that outlet and a heated bird bath was one of my favorite presents from Santa!
Did you know? Birds are endotherms, like you and I, so just like us they can regulate their own body temperature. But it still feels nice to get a little head-start with the help of the sun. Sunbathing is an important part of a bird’s routine. In fact, there are many beneficial reasons why birds tend to sunbathe.
Sunbathing can help with feather maintenance. When oils are heated, they become less viscous or in other words, they move faster, so that oil produced to maintain their feathers can be spread more easily. It also helps control ectoparasites, either by killing them directly or by increasing their vulnerability to preening as they try to escape from the heat.
UV light is important for birds because UVA is part of the vision spectrum of birds, they can see more than what we can, while UVB helps with the production of Vitamin D3 which helps with calcium absorption. A lack of calcium in birds results in an increased risk of seizures, an increased risk of reproductive problems such as egg laying, and lower bone density with an increased risk of fractures.
There are also different ways to sunbathe. Some species, like vultures, prefer to stand up, spreading their wings out away from their bodies, while species of pigeons and doves have been spotted lying down, lifting, or spreading one wing at a time. Others, like our guira cuckoos or tawny frogmouths, will lift regions of feathers on their body, sometimes creating what looks like balding patches to the passing eye. Either way, it involves trying to expose as much surface area as possible to take the best advantage of a sunny opportunity.
There will be plenty of chances to watch birds demonstrate their sunbathing techniques this summer :)-
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