Why is this Western Jackdaw walking around with an open beak?
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It is a quite hot day (30 degrees Celsius) for this location. It usually hovers around 25 degrees. The jackdaw was walking about with another jackdaw looking for food, actually pecking some dead insects off of a cars bumper. The other jackdaw did not have its beak open.
Is this a cooling behavior, perhaps similar to when dogs pant?
3 replies
It is indeed a cooling mechanism. Most people don't think about it much, but we humans are expectationally good at shedding excess heat through sweat. Other species don't have such heat dissipation, and Hebe to do whatever they can to get a not of cooling.
It's a good idea to leave a shallow dish if water in a shady spot for bitds on hot days, cause yes that's one hot bird ;)
It's just a mouth breather. Probably a conservative.