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City birds sleep late
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by LotusFlower | July 22, 2009 at 03:24 am
140 views | 32 Recommendations | 4 comments
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City birds can afford to sleep in their nests a little longer than their country cousins according to a new report from the British Trust for Ornithology.
The micro-climate created by urban human activity sees the cities being several degrees warmer than the countryside and so the city robins, blackbirds and other species common in city habitats don't need to eat quite as much and can laze around a little.
verbal warning
he blames his office nap
on the dawn chorus
A study by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) found birds such as robins and blackbirds in urban areas started visiting bird feeders later than their rural counterparts in winter.
Experts at the BTO believe the difference in feeding habits is due to the "urban heat island effect" which makes cities several degrees warmer than surrounding countryside as a result of heat escaping from buildings.
Mike Toms, head of garden ecology at the BTO, said the extra warmth in urban areas - up to 8C in some places - helped small birds get through the winter months more easily than those in the country.
They did not need to start feeding as early in the morning to replace energy lost overnight keeping warm, he suggested.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 10:38 on July 22nd, 2009
I'd bet that the city birds tend to have better nesting places (building eves & such) thus staying warmer overnight.
I guess that will have to be another study :)
at 10:52 on July 22nd, 2009
yes that must be the case spydermonkey i think
at 11:51 on July 22nd, 2009
Well I definitely want to be a city bird then..
at 10:13 on September 16th, 2009
This is all true but cities have higher taxes and debts.