Hi.

 

I went and saw an old budgie breeder and shower today. He told me many things, one thing was:

Because budgies (and other migrating birds) have to migrate so far, half of their brain and eyesight goes to sleep while flying, and the other half stays awake. Then it switches around and that's how they manage to fly such great distances. Anyone ever heard this before?

Unless they were flying in the desert I guess a few would hit into the sides of trees :rofl: :rofl:

Never heard that one before, budgies migrate between food/water sources and generally wouldn't fly during the night so not sure about that one! That is what prey animals like zebras can do though to watch out for predators, they keep one eye open while 'resting' the other side.

I've just read a few articles on google saying the same thing about budgies. I also saw an article on sparrows.

Amazing Fact.

I've just read a few articles on google saying the same thing about budgies. I also saw an article on sparrows.

Amazing Fact.

 

Love to check that stuff out Pearce, got references for us?

This is a quote from this page: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Can-Birds-S...ght-74549.shtml

 

The question is: how do migrating birds compensate sleep loss? Researches showed in the case of flocks of wild ducks, the birds can take short naps during combining the resting of the whole brain with unilateral eye closure (UEC), when the birds rested one eye and one half of their brains while their other eye and brain hemisphere remained open and active, keeping them semi-alert to danger. Ducks found at the head of the line had half of their brain in UEC one third of the sleep time, while those in the middle of the flying line, just 12 % of the sleep time. When the situation is risky, birds were found to have more UEC episodes.

 

 

 

another site: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18105293.html

Birds can overcome the problem of sleeping in risky situations by developing the ability to sleep with one eye open and one hemisphere of the brain awake, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.

 

In a research published in the scientific journal Nature, Niels Rattenborg and colleagues from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, the United States, showed that birds can detect approaching predators while one half of the brain is asleep.

 

The researchers also found that birds can ...

 

Another one: http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9902/03/birds.eye/

 

LONDON (Reuters) -- Apart from flying, birds have another enviable ability -- they can sleep with one eye open and half of their brain awake, researchers said Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

More: http://beacononlinenews.com/blogs/birdssle...h-one-eye-open/

Birds sleep with one eye open

According to the Sunday London times a 1999 study showed that birds sleep with one eye open and half their brain asleep. They alternate the eye and the side of the brain to be completely rested and protected by morning. Human beings lack this ability in protecting and resting themselves.

Edited March 11, 200916 yr by Pearce

don't most people do that now sorry off topic...

interesting infomation

Edited March 11, 200916 yr by Elly

Good work...

It's good because a bird can sleep and restore its energy while being on guard for predators. If only Humans could do it.

Edited March 11, 200916 yr by Pearce

Good bit of research there Pearce. As for the migrate bit. Budgies don't migrate in the true sense of the word. Unlike other birds who move from north to south, continent to continent, budgies only move between food and water sources.

 

One example of migration is a bird that comes from Russia all the way to the Kooyong in Australia.

 

I read a scienticfic article about sleep in birds and mammals not too long ago. Extremely enlightening and I will see if I still have it around as it had a nice little list in it.