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Bird Watch: Thirsty pigeons

Pigeons (and all of their relatives in the family Columbidae) have "unique drinking behavior" defined as "suck[ing] up water, using their beaks like straws.


p.s. local ecologist is on YouTube here.

Comments

Vicky said…
I had absolutely no idea that pigeons drank differently than other birds (well the ones outside their family). I am going to have to pay more attention to my mother's bird bath now!
Georgia said…
Me, either.
There are scholarly studies of the mechanism of pigeon drinking; example "Drinking behavior and jaw muscle (EMG) activity in the pigeon (Columba livia)" at http://www.springerlink.com/content/w1341186811622w2/.