Behavioural ecology and thermal energetics of roosting by woodland birds

Abstract

Most birds are active during the day and rest at night. What birds do during their resting phase is important because it affects their risk of predation and starvation, yet this aspect of their ecology is rarely studied in Australian woodland birds. I have used temperature sensitive transmitters to find the roosting site and measure the body temperature of two common Australian woodland birds, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) and superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). Noisy miners were studied during summer and winter months, with superb fairy-wrens only being studied in the winter with minimums of -4 °C. My results show that the birds are roosting in nearby areas to their day-time foraging locations, rarely leaving their territory. It has also been shown that there are daily and seasonal body temperature fluctuations in both species, as well as an example of extremely low superb fairy-wren body temperatures during some of the observed nights. These findings will contribute to filling in research gaps of their daily cycle, and provide a better understanding of woodland bird behaviour and thermal physiology.

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English