Birds have highly studied animals that have been around for far longer than us humans. Even so, there are still some questions about birds that have only just recently been answered.
Why do birds stand with their wings spread? The spread-winged position is used by birds to sunbathe. Birds often stand in this position to warm up, by spreading their wings they increase their surface area and therefore are warmed much quicker.
This is the short answer, but as for most questions, there is a bit more that goes into it. So, let’s dive into exactly why birds choose this position and which birds sunbathe… Spoiler, scientists have identified over 50 bird families sunbathe!
Do Birds Sunbathe?
Well, the answer may seem obvious, and yes! Birds are known to sunbathe. Much like many animals, birds utilize the warmth and energy from the sun to warm themselves.
At night the temperatures drop, this leaves birds cold and by the morning they are looking for a way to warm up.
Your curiosity may have stemmed from seeing a bird in this weird position and wondering what they were doing. During the early mornings or even on cold days birds often stand or even lay in the sun to warm.
Birds don’t have any of the creature comforts that we humans have, so they have to rely on natural forms of warmth to ensure they don’t get too cold and unfortunately die.
Personal Story
I grew up in Colorado, which if you are unfamiliar with is quite cold. I remember seeing a small robin on a cold day in January standing up on my deck. It was standing there after a big storm soaking in the sun.
I remember being very curious, and after some further research, I learned that birds just like us are quite the sunbathers, just without the sun lotion!
Well, personal rant over! I just wanted to share how birds are thought-provoking and spark curiosity in many young and old minds!
Why do Birds Stand with their Wings Spread?
There are quite a few reasons why birds stand and spread their wings, we already covered the sunbathing aspect, but there’s more!
From maintaining their feathers to warming themselves up, to even protecting them from parasites. Birds have evolved to spread their wings to help them survive and thrive for over 150 million years!
Birds stretching, is it a real thing?
Yes, birds need to stretch as well. You can imagine that flying around all day, hopping from limb to limb takes a toll on birds.
Birds stretch a lot, and often while they are soaking in the sun they will perch high above their predators to loosen up their bodies and most importantly their muscles.
This is often a reason why you may see birds standing with their wings spread. They may just be stretching. Although we can’t understand birds stretching too much this may be the reason why they often pose in these weird positions.
Especially in the early mornings, they are getting ready for their days, they warm up by the sun and stretch to ensure a safe and balanced day of flight!
How do Birds stretch?
To relieve tension in their bodies birds stretch by spreading their wings, they also stand on one leg to stretch the other and then trade-off.
This helps improve circulation, therefore performing better while in the air, and standing. Birds spend nearly 10 months of the year in flight. This makes their wings powerful and nimble but leaves their legs to be quite weak.
This is why it is very important for them to stretch daily to improve their leg, wings, and back muscles.
Feather Maintenance
Birds need to constantly maintain their feathers. Since there is only a small amount of feather between them and the ground it is vital that they properly take care of them.
All types of birds have different pruning and caring routines. But, typically birds will perch on a high branch or other perching spot.
They will then spread their wings, and begin to pluck at their feathers making sure everything is aligned and in the right spot.
Typically birds will spread their wings or puff up to get a better reach and control of their feathers.
Bird Molting
Most birds molt about twice a year. This is an important process that all birds go through, they have to get rid of their old feathers, and make space for the new ones.
We won’t dive into bird molting in this article, but it can be quite an uncomfortable time for many birds. They will often stand, spread their wings and start to prune and direct their new feathers to be exactly how they want them to be.
If you see a bird spreading their wings this may be why, it may be trying to situate the new feathers so they grow in properly, maintain the waterproof barrier.
It is very important they do this so they can properly fly and stay away from those pesky predators.
Types of Birds that Sunbathe
As we discussed earlier there are over 50 species of birds that sunbathe, so it will be difficult to cover all of them!
So, I just want to feature a few of my favorite birds that sunbathe, did you know that vultures and many other birds sunbathe to rid themselves of parasites? Well, it is true so, let’s dive in!
Do Hawks stand with the Wings Spread?
Yes! Hawks do stand with their wings spread, they do this to sunbathe and warm themselves up in the early warmth of the sun.
They will spread their wings out or even drooped down in a delta-winged position facing the sun to capture as much of the heat as they can.
It is quite the sight, if you are out bird watching early on a cold morning look around, you may be lucky enough to catch a hawk sunbathing before flying away to find mates or food.
Sunbathing plays an important role in birds’ lives, birds including hawks are warm-blooded so they will stand stretched out soaking in the warmth of the sun. It helps them keep their temperatures up.
Fun fact!
Why do Vultures Spread their Wings?
This is a question that has baffled quite a lot of ornithologists for years. Although they stand with their wings spread for many of the same reasons other birds do, let’s focus on the cool part.
They spread their wings in the sun to also rid themselves of parasites! Isn’t that cool, it isn’t fully understood how them basking in the sun kills parasites, but some believe the ultraviolet radiation helps kill any parasites or feather lice.
It makes sense, these pesky parasites and lice will latch onto their feathers, but standing in the sun often kills them off due to the heat and intense rays.
This is an adaptation that many vultures use. Since vultures are scavengers and will pick the meat off decaying bodies it only makes sense that they would have a way to get rid of any parasites they may pick up along the way.
Take away
So, there are a few main reasons why birds stand with their wings spread, but it all comes down to survival.
Whether that be ridding themselves of parasites, or just stretching birds have to stand with their wings spread to help themselves survive and thrive!
So, next time you are out bird watching in the morning look around! You may be lucky enough to see a bird standing looking majestic with its wings out!
Until next time! Happy Birding!
James has always been an avid outdoorsman. Since a kid, he kept a journal of all the different birds and species he saw. Now he wants to share his passion with other birders with Happy Birding!