Sun bathing
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by RenoHatesMe
I just saw a condor with its wings spread wide, a posture I've seen frequently in cormorants. Do Condors sun-bathe like cormorants in order to warm up? I wouldn't expect that in such a large sized bird (plus they don't go in the water like cormorants).
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by myraf scientist
So, I asked my graduate student, Zeka Kuspa about her thoughts on this as she has spent a lot of time watching condors and she had this great answer I will pass along:
They do! We don't know for sure why condors and other vultures sunbath (referred to as "sunning" in these species), but several hypotheses exist:
- Drying off: Condors often sun after bathing or a good rain shower.
- Reducing parasite load: Some scientists have suggested that exposure to sunlight might kill feather parasites.
- Achieving optimum feather shape and condition: There is some evidence that warming feathers might help ruffled feathers return more quickly to their optimum shape for flight. This would be important for a large bodied bird that needs to soar long distances as efficiently as possible.
- Warming up: I strike this same pose when the sun first hits me at my campsite after a cold night!
My guess: A combination of a few of these reasons.
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