Urohidrosis
Urohidrosis (sometimes misspelled "urohydrosis"[1]) is the habit in some birds of defecating onto the scaly portions of the legs as a cooling mechanism, using evaporative cooling of the fluids. Birds' droppings consist of both feces and urine, which are excreted together through the cloaca.
Etymology[edit]
Hidrosis" is the medical term for sweating from Ancient Greek,[2] and the word "urohidrosis" was coined by M. P. Kahl in 1963:[3]
...Because of its apparent functional similarity to true sweating, I suggest the term urohidrosis (Greek: ouron = urine; hidrōs = sweat) for this phenomenon.
Examples[edit]
Several species of storks and New World vultures exhibit this behaviour.[4][5] This behaviour leads to accumulation of droppings around leg rings on ringed birds, which can lead to injury.[6]
The term is also used to describe the analogous behaviour in seals that cool themselves while basking by urinating on their hind flippers.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Elliott, A. (1992). "Family Ciconiidae (Storks)". In del Hoyo, J; A. Elliott, J. Sargatal (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. pp. 441–449.
- ^ Brown, Lesley, ed. (1993). New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 1231. ISBN 0-19-861271-0.
- ^ Kahl, M.P. (1963). "Thermoregulation in the Wood Stork, with special reference to the role of the legs". Physiol. Zool. 36: 141–151.
- ^ Sibley, Charles G.; Ahlquist, Jon E. (1990), Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution, Yale University Press (published 1991), p. 513, ISBN 0-300-04085-7, retrieved 2007-09-09
- ^ "Ventana Wildlife Society - Cool Condor Facts". Ventana Wildlife Society. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ Henckel, R.E. (1976). "Lesions associated with fecal accumulation on leg bands in Turkey Vultures". American Bird Bander. 1: 126.
- ^ Gentry, Roger L. (1973). "Thermoregulatory Behavior of Eared Seals". Behaviour. 46 (1&2): 73–93. doi:10.1163/156853973x00175.
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