Avian’s Survival Procedure

On the day I shot the pictures I’m posting today, our weather temperature was very low and the breeze made it feel even colder!.

Most birds under windy or cold conditions trigger a natural survival mode which is a change on their feather layers covering their bodies.

The change consists of ruffling their down feathers under the upper feather layers and that effect makes their bodies retain their the warmth of the body temperature and reflect the cold from the outside with the top layers of feathers.

This a very natural procedure used by avians for a way to protect their bodies from losing the normal body temperature.

In the case of humans our bare skin would not resist cold temperatures for long. We resort to a similar principle by wearing clothes and a down parka or being inside a down-lined sleeping bag. Same principle apply to wearing clothes in layers for better protection, keeping the body temperature from escaping and at the same time reflecting the cold from affecting the body.

Fleece or animal fur work on the same principle or fat blubber for other animals.

The reason I brought up this subject is mainly because some people believe that they have eaten too much and turned obese, when they have seen a rounded shaped bird.

Photo Gallery

Field Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Northern Cardinal (M)

Song Sparrow

Northern Mockingird

Carolina Wren

Tufted Titmouse

Tags: Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, nature, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, photography, photos of birds, Tufted Titmouse

20 thoughts on “Avian’s Survival Procedure”

Jen Sawicky on January 16, 2015 at 8:36 am said:

They are all beautiful photos, but I kept returning to look at the mockingbird. The tones in the photograph and the sharpness of the bird are stunning 🙂

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:53 am said:
  
  Thanks Jen! The shots are taken at different times and the light conditions vary from each other. The more light the sharpest it’s going to get (lower ISO). 🙂
  
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kathydoremus on January 16, 2015 at 8:39 am said:

Love the perky little wren. 🙂

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:53 am said:
  
  Thanks Kathy! 🙂
  
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faridanaz on January 16, 2015 at 9:00 am said:

Beautiful! 🙂

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:46 am said:
  
  Thank you F.! 🙂
  
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susanpoozan on January 16, 2015 at 11:04 am said:

I love the way the tufted titmouse is glaring at you.

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:54 am said:
  
  Thanks Susan! 🙂
  
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Lisa Rest on January 16, 2015 at 11:49 am said:

Sometimes I wish I had feathers for insulation: works better than fat! 🙂

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:55 am said:
  
  🙂 You’re funny Lisa! 🙂
  
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forgottenmeadows on January 16, 2015 at 1:54 pm said:

lovely shots and very informative as usual 🙂 Happy Friday, H J!

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 1:58 pm said:
  
  Thank you Neha! Happy Friday for you too! 🙂
  
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clarepooley33 on January 16, 2015 at 3:28 pm said:

Lovely shots again, HJ! Thousands of years ago when humans were much hairier we did the same as the birds. This is what goosebumps are.

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 3:57 pm said:
  
  Thank you Clare! That’s interesting, thanks for sharing! 🙂
  
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tootlepedal on January 16, 2015 at 6:16 pm said:

I winder how well the fluffing up works.

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 6:45 pm said:
  
  🙂
  
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Tiny on January 16, 2015 at 11:27 pm said:

Good to know! I’ve seen so many ruffled up birds on these cold windy days we’ve had this winter.

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- avian101 on January 16, 2015 at 11:47 pm said:
  
  Yes, Me too! Thanks Tiny! 🙂
  
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Teresa Echeverría on January 19, 2015 at 7:42 pm said:

Qué bellas imágenes siempre. Avian101, saludos!

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- avian101 on January 19, 2015 at 10:05 pm said:
  
  Muchas Gracias Teresa! Gratos saludos!
  
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