How Do Birds Sleep?

Summary
When birds disappear at night, where do they go and what are they doing? Most of them are sleeping, of course. But sleep in birds differs greatly from what you and I do.

In this episode, we discuss the most important functions of sleep in birds. Then we get into the evolution of sleep in birds.

Along the way, we’ll talk about the similarities and differences of sleep between birds and mammals like us.

Last, we cover where and how birds sleep, regarding location, posture, etc.

Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode

• Avian Sleep Group at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
• Common Swifts Fly for 10 Months Without Landing
• The bird-like dinosaur Mei Long  (“Sleeping Dragon”)

Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website

Errors and Clarifications

• I said that the fossil of the bird-like dinosaur Mei Long (“Sleeping Dragon”) was discovered in 2010. It was actually discovered in 2004. 

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