• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

I see birds keeping their beaks open (1 Viewer)

Bird12345

Member
Why do they do this?

I've seen aussie magpies, common mynas and possibly currawongs holding their beaks open indefinately. Now I don't believe they do it when they feel threatened because the magpie is very comfortable around me yet sometimes he does it and other times he doesn't. I see them do it often when it's hot but I don't want to rush to that conclusion yet.
 
With how hot Sydney is right now, at least 35 for the last week, (nearly 100F) I think it's just the birds 'panting' like dogs ;)
 
Alright thanks guys. I thought it was because of the heat it's just that I hadn't payed attention to any birds since fairly recently so I didn't know if they were doing it when it was cool too.
How come I sometimes see birds sunbathing when it's hot and other's carefully sticking to the shade? Even when it's very hot like 34 C.
 
I also think they are opening their mouths to regulate their body temperature. Its called a homeostatic response, its common across the animal kingdom, and roughling feathers is another example.

I would say you see some birds in the sun and others in the shade dependant on what they have recently been doing. Birds have incredibly high metabolisms and produce a great deal of body heat which they need to loose, so if a bird has recently been 'working hard' they will be more likely to be resting to return to their base heart rate, slowing their metabolism in an effort to regulate their body temperature. it is feasable they would do it when it was cold as well because they have such high metabolisms.

Also of course, some birds are more able to tolerate high temperatures than others, for a variety of morphological reasons, as a result of genetic variation and speciation. 'Some like it hot'
 
Warning! This thread is more than 13 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top