| Do you know… … how birds keep their cool? The resting metabolic rate of songbirds is the highest of all vertebrates. During normal daily activities, a bird’s metabolic rate increases up to 4 times and can increase 10 times during flight. An important by-product of metabolism is heat. How do songbirds keep themselves from baking during these hot summer months? Although birds lack sweat glands, they can perspire through their skin. They also pant, allowing water to evaporate from the surface of air sacs. To augment the cooling effects of panting, many birds engage in gular fluttering, in which they rapidly vibrate the throat.Birds also have the good sense to slow down and become less active during the heat of the day, to seek shady resting spots, bathe, or soar at high altitudes where the air is much cooler. |