A pause in the sun

I watched a Goldcrest busily foraging amongst the golden leaves of a birch tree earlier today. I had not considered taking a photo until I noticed the bird had stopped. It fluffed up its feathers and sat for a rare spot of sunbathing. It has been a lovely sunny mild day today and I is the first time I see this bird sitting still.

Sunbathing Carrion Crow

A couple of weeks ago, I surprised a male blackbird sunbathing. I thought it was dead, so contorted and stiff he looked, and stepped forward scaring it away. I missed a great photo opportunity as it was so close. Today I was luckier. On the way to work, I couldn't believe my eyes a Carrion Crow was sunbathing on the lawn, just a few meters away. I stopped, looking away and prepared the camera thinking it would flee, but it didn't. Only in the first two shots it is eyeing me, then it relaxed and carried on, sat, wings spread on the ground, head to the side, all feathers fluffed up, looking entranced as birds do when they sunbathe.

Enjoying the sun

After a gloomy, wet winter, the sun made an appearance this morning. This female blackbird did seem to enjoy it as much as me. Sat on a branch, she preened her feathers, fluffed them up and just took the sun in. Blackbirds can display a much more dramatic sunbathing behavior when on the ground. They will spread their tails and wings, fluff their feathers up, open their beaks and flatten their bodies against the ground. They appear to be entranced by the sun warmth, although to the casual observed they might look sick or injured. I have seen Starlings and House Sparrows 'copying' a blackbird doing this on a secluded corner in the local park, like the behaviour was contagious. Pigeons will regularly sunbathe as well.

 Why do birds do it? Hypothesis abound, from synthesizing vitamin D from their oil gland secretions, to antiparasite behaviour. Sunbathing does not necessarily happen on cold or winter days (see example below). For a good article about sunbathing in birds see this post in TetZoo.

Today's blackbird doing some feather maintenance

Another female Blackbird sunbathing in the summer (26/06/2011)...

...and a male in the winter (03/02/2009)