Diurnal Raptors – The Body
| The Body |
| Raptors, like all living organisms, are a complex structure and to go into them fully would take forever. Here we will briefly list the important points only.BreathingThe raptor like us has two lungs, but whereas ours both pull air in and expel it out, a bird pulls air in at one end of the lungs and expels it from the other, making it much more efficient. In addition they have a series of air sacs which, while not actually processing the gasses, aid the respiratory system while at the same time providing a very efficient heat exchanger for cooling down, as well as giving a degree of buoyancy.SkeletonThe bones of all birds, while not exactly hollow, nevertheless contain a lot of air, thus reducing the bird’s overall bodyweight and more easily facilitating flight. The birds themselves are not very big – most of what you see is feather and a buzzard would make a hugely disappointing Sunday roast.
Digestion
All diurnal raptors have a crop where food is temporarily stored prior to sending down to the gut where it is processed. Once the food has been digested, the indigestible parts such as fur, feather and insect shells are formed into a pellet, or casting, and regurgitated the next day. Raptors are in many respects creatures of habit and it is often possible to find a heap of such pellets beneath a bird’s favourite casting perch.
Metabolism
Raptors operate at a much faster rate than we, with a heartbeat of around 100 beats per minute at rest and up to 300 when stressed or during high activity, and with a body temperature of around 41ºC as opposed to our 37ºC
Feathers
There are many different types of feathers on a bird, all performing different functions.
Flight feathers which power and control flight, among Other Things.
Covert or Contour feathers which help produce an aerodynamic shape, among Other Things
Down which provides insulation, among Other Things
Crines which are thin, hair-like feathers which help dissipate dried blood. |
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Other Things
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| The plumage of any bird is of cardinal importance to its survival and ability to operate. The bird knows this and will spend a great deal of time in preening its feathers. When it preens it is not just zipping the feathers back into place and making itself look nice for the day – it is waterproofing itself. There is a preen gland near the base of its tail from which the bird will squeeze a small amount of oil with its beak and then transfer to its feathers. Raptors will also occasionally bathe, not just to cool off or get clean but to help dissipate the oil evenly over the feathers. And so on a cold, wet day the bird will be well equipped to deal with the elements: it will fluff out its feathers and trap a layer of air in the down for warmth, and the rain will literally run off its back thanks to the waterproofing oil.Now, many exhibitors of birds of prey will not only allow but will actually encourage the public to stroke their birds, with the result that all the oils are immediately removed. Many know this but say, “Oh, the bird will put them back.” Yes, it will, but what happens if it gets wet in the meanwhile? With no waterproofing then any moisture will immediately get through to the down feathers which will get waterlogged, hold water next to the skin and be impossible to fluff out for warmth. Operating with the high metabolism mentioned above, the bird will be extremely prone to contracting pneumonia and dying very soon afterwards. Given the fact that a bird of prey gets no pleasure from being stroked (it’s not like a dog) the only pleasure gained is by the stroker. If it’s mutual gratification you’re after then stroke dogs, cats or each other – it’s more pleasurable and less potentially fatal for the strokee.Feather maintenanceAs well as putting oils into their feathers birds preen in order to iron out any kinks or gaps and generally keep their feathers in tip-top state. However, now and again a feather will be broken beyond repair and for this reason a bird moults all its feathers once a year, replacing them with new ones. The feathers are made of keratin, and have a blood supply to them while growing, but once fully down the blood supply is cut off and the feather is essentially dead. |
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| Birds’ bones are a honeycomb structure |
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