by Lisa Milewski
Why Do Birds Sunbathe?
As I look out the window, as I often do to bird and butterfly watch, to my surprise, I see these European Starlings all laying on the ground with their wings spread out. At first, I thought they fell to the ground due to the extreme heat and were in trouble.
I then looked up why the birds would do this and if intervention was needed and I found this:
According to an online Audubon Society article called “Hot, Bothered, and Parasite-free: Why Birds Sun Themselves,” when it is hot enough, they do this not only for warmth and dryness but to rid themselves of parasites living on their skin and feathers.
It’s not known exactly how sunlight might kill the parasites; however, scientists believe that short blasts of heat, UV radiation, or some combination of both from the sun’s rays is likely the cause. The researchers found that even in a relatively short time in the direct sunlight, around 10 minutes, heated the wings to 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which far exceeds the temperatures required to kill bedbugs, for example, which die at around 120 degrees. According to another study, 84% of other parasites, such as lice, died in direct sunlight at 140 degrees Fahrenheit in three minutes. At 158 degrees they all perished.
There are birds from more than 50 families that sunbathe, including birds of prey, rails, doves, larks, swallows, thrushes, finches, buntings, and more, though they may bathe for different reasons and different times.
