Sunning birds

Male Blackbird gets down and out (c.OOS)

Not surprisingly, given the great warm weather of the past month, I've noticed a few incidences of garden bird behaviour that involves individuals suddenly adopting strange positions around the garden.  Though at first sight, it might look like the bird is in trouble and the heat has got to it and they have literally flipped, the accepted theory is that deliberate posturing to attract the heat of the sun, is a tactic to enhance feather maintenance.

Blackbirds are often caught sunning: either flat out as above with both wings spread and the tail flat out, together with a glazed look and open bill, panting, or keeled over to one side with tail and one wing fanned to the suns rays.  Panting relieves excess heat.

 I was lucky to see a juvenile Robin adopt similar postures, in the same part of the garden: it looked for all the world like a flattened, crumpled up leaf.

A juvenile Robin does its fallen leaf impression (c.OOS)

The birds must take a risk with predators when adopting this behaviour, as they are  slightly dazed looking, though it is clearly worth the risk

The sunning behaviour serves to maintain the flight feathers of the birds and  may also play a role in activating preen oil.  This in turn leads to a dispersal of ectoparasites that are hard to reach with the bill in normal circumstances.. I always said it.. you cant beat a good scratch, or in this case, a good oiling in the sun, high factor of course!

Same bird sits up, panting (c.OOS)