Why do birds stand still (1 Viewer)

[mikealison]

I went to lotherton hall for a trip with college. I noticed while I was there that the marabou storks stood still for long periods of time. Could anybody explain this behaviour to me. Thanks
Mike

 

[JWN Andrewes]

A lot of things won't bother to move unless there's a good reason too - why waste the energy? Birds which tend to fill up with a proper big meal (like raptors, or scavenging Storks) will then just sit/stand and digest until there's an overriding need to do something else. (The term "fed up" comes from falconry and refers to when a bird's had plenty to eat and can therefore not be persuaded to do anything other than sit there - seemingly sulking!) Smaller birds, like warblers, say, need to keep moving in order to keep finding the many little insecty packages of food that keep 'em going throughout the day.

James

 

[mikealison]

Thanks for your reply. I just thought that with the bird being in captivity and it not using energy looking for food, that it would have excess energy to burn.
thanks
mike