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https://theconversation.com/guineafowl-can-outsmart-extreme-temperatures-we-spent-a-year-finding-out-how-260439>
"Have you ever wondered how wild birds cope with baking hot afternoons and
freezing cold mornings? Our new study has taken a close look at one of Africa’s
most familiar birds – the helmeted guineafowl – and uncovered surprising
answers about how they deal with extreme temperatures.
The helmeted guineafowl (
Numida meleagris) is a common sight across
sub-Saharan Africa’s savannas and semi-arid regions. They are instantly
recognisable with their spotted plumage, bony helmet, bare blue head, and loud
cackling calls. These birds are famously social, often seen roaming in noisy
flocks.
Helmeted guineafowl can endure air temperatures from -4°C up to 40°C in South
Africa.
The idea that animals huddle to stay warm – known as social thermoregulation –
is well documented in mammals and birds like penguins. This theory proposes
that animals huddle together to conserve heat in cold conditions, but is this
what guineafowl are doing?
Together with colleagues in Spain, we set out to find the answer because
understanding whether birds group to keep warm or for other reasons helps
ecologists uncover the true drivers of social behaviour. This can also inform
how species will respond to changing climates and help guide conservation
strategies.
We studied a wild population of guineafowl in South Africa’s Madikwe Game
Reserve, a protected area near the Botswana border. It’s known for its sharp
daily temperature fluctuations during winter, with cold, frosty mornings
dropping to 0°C and sweltering afternoons reaching up to 40°C.
To spy on the birds without disturbing them, we set up a live-streaming webcam
at a busy waterhole, recording their behaviour over an entire year. We watched
how group size, body posture and daily routines shifted with the seasons and
weather.
What we found was striking."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
