birdsoup

Sleep is quite different for birds than it is for us. They are light sleepers rarely falling into any kind of deep sleep.  Most of us are able to sleep soundly for eight hours without fear of being eaten.  But birds must be constantly aware of their surroundings keeping an ear alert for danger and ready to hop out of “bed” and move without prior notice.  Short spurts of sleep are the best they can achieve.

Where do they sleep?  Birds normally roost in the same habitat they nest in.  Ducks sleep on or near water, shorebirds sleep on the beach, cardinal sleep in bushes, woodpeckers in woodpecker holes.

Many birds use a “wing tuck” posture for sleep, turning their neck and nuzzling their bill into their back feathers. 

Here are two interesting facts about sleep.  First, certain swifts are continuously in flight and may only touch land once a year.  It is believed that they sleep while flying.  Second, giraffes only sleep less than 30 minutes per.  I know this last fact has nothing to do with birds, but it is an interesting, if useless, fact.