La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Wing-spreading, wing-drying and food-warming in great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo
Auteurs :	Craig R. White, Auteur ; Graham R. Martin, Auteur ; Patrick J. Butler, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Avian Biology (39(5) SEP 2008)
Article en page(s) :	576-578
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	Wing-spreading of cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae) is a characteristic and enigmatic aspect of their behavioural repertoire. It has been suggested to have a range of functions including wing-drying, food-warming, and social signalling of foraging success. We investigated two of these putative roles by comparing the wing-spreading behaviour of fed and unfed animals after they had been swimming and diving. The duration of wing-spreading was correlated only with time spent on the water. The ingestion of food did not influence the duration of wing-spreading, a finding that supports a wing-drying, rather than a food-warming, function.

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