Safe From The Sun

On a hot, humid day last month, as I was getting out of the office parking lot in Creek Park, I saw a large bird take flight with loud raucous calls.

It was a red-wattled lapwing, and it was trying to wet its belly and soak its breast feathers in a tiny puddle formed by the drip irrigation to carry the water to its eggs or newly-hatched chicks.

I followed the bird until I reached a sandy and barren piece of land strewn with some pebbles and trash. I surveyed the area through my 500mm tele-lens and found a lapwing lying flat on the ground within 15 metres of the car.

After waiting for 25 minutes the bird flew

off towards the park. It returned within the next two minutes.

To save their eggs and chicks from the scorching heat, ground-nesting birds like the lapwing and plover often carry water in their soaked abdominal feathers. When they sit on the eggs or chicks the water or moisture is transferred.

By shielding the eggs from the sunlight, the mother bird was preventing the egg's temperature from rising beyond her body temperature of around 38 degrees centigrade.

So, whether the outside temperature rises beyond 45 degrees or not, parent birds can save their chicks and eggs dying from dehydration by shielding them from the sun and tucking them under their bellies.