Birds are amazing creatures. They have a very efficient oxygen exchange system required for the very high energy demand involved with flying. As a result they have an amazing respiratory system, and an amazing circulatory system.

 

I've always been fascinated by the whirr of my birds' heartbeats that I could hear with my stethoscope and have been at a loss as to how to share it with everyone. Recently I was lucky enough to witness surgery on a budgie, where a Doppler flow meter was used. In different veterinary clinics there are different protocols as to what machines are used in surgery. This was the first time I'd seen a Doppler. A Doppler basically measures pulses and translates it into sound that you can hear. So while I've never been able to record a bird's heartbeat through a stethoscope, I could finally record it through a Doppler.

 

Here it is:

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a14/Chrys...nt=MVI_8291.flv

 

 

Yes it is a very short video but it's enough to hear what a budgie's heart sounds like. Each hammer-like sound you can hear corresponds to one beat (contraction of the heart). A human heart beats at around 80 beats per minute, allowing us to clearly hear the "lub-dub" sound. In birds it's so fast all you can hear is a whirr. In the video, the budgie's heart rate was going at around 350 beats per minute - which is normal. It can go up to 600 beats per minute in times of stress or exercise. It goes down to about 250 beats per minute in times of rest or sleep.

 

:happy-dancing:

Edited September 24, 200915 yr by Chrysocome

Wow........really fast :happy-dancing:

That's amazing! It sounds like a woodpecker!