Birds at Rest : The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pasquier, Roger F.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (0 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2025.

Summary:

A wide-ranging account of how birds spend the quiet half of their livesBirds at Rest is the first book to give a full picture of how birds rest, roost, and sleep, a vital part of their lives. It features new science that can measure what is happening in a bird’s brain over the course of a night or when it has flown to another hemisphere, as well as still-valuable observations by legendary naturalists such as John James Audubon, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Theodore Roosevelt. Much of what they saw and what ornithologists are studying today can be observed and enjoyed by any birder.From the poles to the tropics, how, when, and where birds sleep reflect the ecology and behavior of each species, as well as their evolution from dinosaur ancestors. Some sleep briefly, their brain half awake, others spend long cold nights in torpor, and a few can sleep while flying. Their roosting habits are also varied. Most birds sleep alone, some in pairs or families, while others in flocks of millions. Birds at Rest explains how each strategy works over the course of a season, a year, or a lifetime by providing protection, mating opportunities, information about food, and other survival benefits.With evocative drawings by artist and illustrator Margaret La Farge, Birds at Rest discusses how environmental challenges such as artificial lights and noise, invasive species, and climate change are disrupting avian sleep and proposes solutions to ensure that birds get the rest they need.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Why Birds Sleep

2. Lighter Rest and Deeper Sleep

3. Where to Roost?

4. Specialized Roost Sites

5. Social Aspects of Roosting

6. Flock Roosts

7. Roosting Times

8. To and From Communal Roosts

9. Predation, Parasitism, and Competition

10. Human Impacts

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780691260075

0691260079

OCLC:

1477222046