I mean there's relevant and then there's relevant. This is both of those.
I feel less silly about this question now
We have a family of bald eagles that live in my area, and every winter they lay an egg or two, then sit on it till spring out in the elements. They seem to not really care one way or another, even in the snow, but I'm not a birdologist.
I'm an expert in bird law but bird doctoring.... Ehh...
Pretty crazy considering a human would die under these conditions.
We also ain't covered in feathers
Speak for yourself, monkeyboy
Username checks out
we don't even have fur smh
It's probably warmer than a down parka
our rescued ducks like the rain but the chickens will get soggy. ducks are pretty much waterproof
"soggy" lol
I have birds that I keep outside in the summer, sometimes they will just sit in the rain even though they have plenty of covered areas. All birds have an oil gland that they use to run an oil over their feathers to keep them in good order and different levels of waterproof depending on species. Most birds can sit in the rain for a while without actually getting wet.
But ya, birds can get wet and cold but they are usually adapted to their environment to not get too cold or too wet.
TIL about birds having an oil gland that makes them waterproof đ¤
Ya, this is the best video I could find to show what I'm talking about ~7min in, ignore the inspirational text if you want:
You can see the water beading up instead of absorbing, and sometimes just bouncing off completely. If the bird roused (shook) it would be pretty dry.
Thanks for sharing that, super interesting.
Anecdote time!
Our rooster refuses to stay dry when it rains, unless it is literally freezing.
He's a big ol' motherclucker, and the closest he gets is jumping on the grill, which is half under a tree so that big drops don't hit him direct when it's coming down hard.
If it's a regular rain, he just goes about his business after about fifteen minutes of what seems like bathing, where he fluffs up and flaps his wings while stomping and then preens for a bit. Then, he just hunts for bugs and happily clucks when he finds them. Sounds like a popcorn machine.
Very cute anecdote <3
I have a balcony with bushes, and hummingbirds always perch on the inner twigs to get out of the rain, eschewing their usual dogfights around the feeder.
Hummingbirds đĨē
Probably depends on the bird.
Many birds live all year round in cold, rainy environments. Their bodies developed to be able to handle it, so either they are kept warm by their feathers or they shelter in warm places.
Other birds, such as toucans, are native to tropical environments and would probably be very unhappy in the cold.
It rains in the tropics, though
In my anecdotal experience, some birds stay out of the rain and others don't seem to care. Crows don't seem to care, but the finches (or whatever the smaller birds super common around here are) tend to take shelter.
Crows are too cool to care
Jk, I've seen some littler birds take shelter and some not care. Probably each species has a different tolerance
my macaws hate it
Your macaws are like me
Can't speak for the cold but many birds like water because it keeps them clean/parasite free, and that's why they bathe in bird baths and puddles.
I mean just because you like taking a bath or swimming doesn't mean you're going to enjoy standing in the rain too
Relevant xkcd.
OP is a bird confirmed
Lol I wish
I mean there's relevant and then there's relevant. This is both of those.
I feel less silly about this question now
We have a family of bald eagles that live in my area, and every winter they lay an egg or two, then sit on it till spring out in the elements. They seem to not really care one way or another, even in the snow, but I'm not a birdologist.
I'm an expert in bird law but bird doctoring.... Ehh...
Pretty crazy considering a human would die under these conditions.
We also ain't covered in feathers
Speak for yourself, monkeyboy
Username checks out
we don't even have fur smh
It's probably warmer than a down parka
our rescued ducks like the rain but the chickens will get soggy. ducks are pretty much waterproof
"soggy" lol
I have birds that I keep outside in the summer, sometimes they will just sit in the rain even though they have plenty of covered areas. All birds have an oil gland that they use to run an oil over their feathers to keep them in good order and different levels of waterproof depending on species. Most birds can sit in the rain for a while without actually getting wet.
But ya, birds can get wet and cold but they are usually adapted to their environment to not get too cold or too wet.
TIL about birds having an oil gland that makes them waterproof đ¤
Ya, this is the best video I could find to show what I'm talking about ~7min in, ignore the inspirational text if you want:
https://youtu.be/gGwKdg53W6k?si=AboK8A44Tdmi8ZMX
You can see the water beading up instead of absorbing, and sometimes just bouncing off completely. If the bird roused (shook) it would be pretty dry.
Thanks for sharing that, super interesting.
Anecdote time!
Our rooster refuses to stay dry when it rains, unless it is literally freezing.
He's a big ol' motherclucker, and the closest he gets is jumping on the grill, which is half under a tree so that big drops don't hit him direct when it's coming down hard.
If it's a regular rain, he just goes about his business after about fifteen minutes of what seems like bathing, where he fluffs up and flaps his wings while stomping and then preens for a bit. Then, he just hunts for bugs and happily clucks when he finds them. Sounds like a popcorn machine.
Very cute anecdote <3
I have a balcony with bushes, and hummingbirds always perch on the inner twigs to get out of the rain, eschewing their usual dogfights around the feeder.
Hummingbirds đĨē
Probably depends on the bird.
Many birds live all year round in cold, rainy environments. Their bodies developed to be able to handle it, so either they are kept warm by their feathers or they shelter in warm places.
Other birds, such as toucans, are native to tropical environments and would probably be very unhappy in the cold.
It rains in the tropics, though
In my anecdotal experience, some birds stay out of the rain and others don't seem to care. Crows don't seem to care, but the finches (or whatever the smaller birds super common around here are) tend to take shelter.
Crows are too cool to care
Jk, I've seen some littler birds take shelter and some not care. Probably each species has a different tolerance
my macaws hate it
Your macaws are like me
Can't speak for the cold but many birds like water because it keeps them clean/parasite free, and that's why they bathe in bird baths and puddles.
I mean just because you like taking a bath or swimming doesn't mean you're going to enjoy standing in the rain too
I've seen birds bathing, it's very cute