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Do Night-Herons usually do this? (1 Viewer)

Matt Life

New member
Can the USA birders tell me if Yellow-Crowned Night Herons usually get up to strange behaviour during the day? I saw this one going through a five minute sun-worship exercise during the heat of the afternoon in the Bahamas last summer.

It very slowly fanned and lowered its wings, and even more slowly turned its head from side to side. I took this picture in the middle of its routine.

It seemed strange to me, but then I'd never seen a night heron before (or since).

Cheers - Matt
 

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Yes, I've seen YCNH do that before. It kind of looks like they are turning themselves into a satellite dish or something. I would be interested to know exactly why they do it, though.
 
I've seen this in ours Herons and often wondered but then one day I watched for quite awhile and realized it must be some sort of a feeding aid for them where the fish will swim to the shaded area under their wings folded like this because every so often the heron would then just dip its beak immediately under the area and come up with a tasty treat.;)
 
I like the fishing aid idea (although this one was doing it on the roof of a house!)

I wondered if he was warming his wings?

He didn't seem to worry about me looking at him either. He was totally transfixed!
 
Sorry, but it really has nothing to do with feeding here (as it's on a roof!)...
The heron is obviously "just" enjoying the sun.
 
I have seen them doing this in Florida on very warm mdays and they are usually drumming their throat at the same time with their mouth open. Every time I have seen it, the bird doing it was facing another YCNH nearby, and It almost seemed to be a territorial or a mating thing.

It was in the mid 90's F, so I doubt it was trying to warm up.

In 2003 I saw this Night heron high in a tree :

http://public.fotki.com/YetiMan/florida/heymatep_n.html

Then I noticed it was facing this Night heron right above and behind me in a tree:

http://public.fotki.com/YetiMan/florida/yellowcrestp_n.html
 
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I have noticed somewhat similar behavior in Hummingbirds where they spread their tail feathers in direct sunlight to rid themselves of fleas and wandered if this may be related to the Heron behavior. However, I have only noticed this in juvenile Herons. Has anyone seen adults display this trait ?
 

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The Barn Owl said:
Perhaps it is to aid digestion in some way, much like Cormorants spread their wings to do this?

Sam

I thought cormorants spread their wings because they don't have the oils that ducks and similar waterfowl do and they simply needed to dry their wings prior to flight.

Cormorants spread their wings to aid digestion?
 
Bob Brent said:
However, I have only noticed this in juvenile Herons. Has anyone seen adults display this trait ?

Birds really are no different than humans in this aspect. They like the sun too! And yes, I've seen adults of several species of herons doing it too (not really as rare a sight as one might think if reading through this thread, but certainly still interesting).
 
Ah yes, the 'air drying' theory is a good one, but not for our friend the YCNH who was, in my shot, stood very much on dry land and in Matt's initial shot, atop a roof. Rasmus brings a whole new question to light. Are these birds really doing this just for the enjoyment ? And if they are, what level of intelligence do they really have ? ( does a heron say to itself " I'm going to take a little sun because it feels good" ? ) Are birds really no differnt than humans ?
Your thought's.........
 
Bob Brent said:
Rasmus brings a whole new question to light. Are these birds really doing this just for the enjoyment ? And if they are, what level of intelligence do they really have ? ( does a heron say to itself " I'm going to take a little sun because it feels good" ? ) Are birds really no differnt than humans ?
Your thought's.........

One of the most basic experiments in biology involves placing certain heat-loving bacteria in a small glass that is cold in one end and warm in other. Not surprisingly, most end up in the warm end. That is, in my opinion at least, hardly evidence for intelligence in these genera of bacteria. Rather, it is a fairly simple behavioral pattern which is amplified by evolution (basically, these bacteria divides faster in warm temperatures, i.e. the "individuals" that seek warmth will become more numerous than the ones that don't). Birds (and humans) maintain thermal homeostasis (they're "warm blooded") and when the temperature of the surroundings is low it requires a fair deal of energy to keep the core temperature at the needed level. So, the individuals that learn to take a few shortcuts (e.g. sunning when the possibility is there) use less energy and in the end have a greater chance of survival. And why would an animal sun itself? Well, presumably because it gets some satisfaction out of it, but this satisfaction really only is secondary to the actual goal which is saving energy (comparable to an orgasm - one of the absolute simplest ways to get animals to want to mate, even if most species are unlikely to have any idea of the true reason behind it). So, while there can be no doubts that certain species of birds are quite intelligent (esp. Parrots & Corvids) I doubt sunning (i.e. seeking warmth) can be seen as evidence for any higher level of intelligence, although we're obviously limited by the fact that no two authorities seem to agree completely on the definition of intelligence.
 
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Does the heat from the sun help birds rid themselves of parasites? I've seen Brewer's Blackbirds, Band-tailed Pigeons, Mourning Doves and American Robins sunning after taking either a dirt or a water bath. All in a variety of poses: one wing raised straight up, wings (one or both) spread to the side, tails fanned, birds tipped sideways to expose bellies and complete underwing.
 
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