Uncloudy Day

"They tell me of a home far beyond the skies

And they tell me of a home far away

They tell me of a home where no storms clouds
rise.

Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day.."

- Uncloudy day, Rev J Alwood
covered famously by Willie Nelson

Unwindy day, too. See the Red-footed juvenile?
It's head looking down

When there is no wind on this small island, it makes for some long days. Long for the birds because they are evolved for open-ocean where the wind generally blows and sometimes quite gusty. Many of the birds, particularly the larger ones, like the Masked Boobies
(S. dactylatra) and the albatrosses (Diomedea spp.) on island need a running start to take off. They need a running start even on windy days, but a far shorter distance is needed. So, on windless days the large birds are more or less "grounded." They still fly, but its much more of an effort to run and attain the windspeed needed for lift. Noticibly more birds are just sitting. Many of the albatoss are on there egg, and the other birds just sit and pant.

Pant?

Yep. Like dogs, but unlike us, birds haven't any pores to sweat through to regulate their body temperature with. So if on a hot summer day you see a bird perching still with its beak agape, it is essentially panting to help regulate its body temperature.

Different bird species have some fairly interesting unique techniques to aid in thermoregulation.
Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus)

Brown Noddies, as pictured above, in addition to panting have a very unique way of opening one wing and tilting its fanned tail to one side. The Noddies are the only members of the terns subfamily that exhibit this type of behavior that gives the birds a pose of such angles.

The albatross on the island sit up to create their own shadow and lift their feet off the ground in their created shade. Again, like dogs, birds feet (particularly shore and seabirds) are sources of taking in or giving out body temperature.


Black-footed Albatross (D. nigripes)

The above picture isn't a sparkling example, but the bird is doing it. I should've taken a picture of one today, but I didn't know I'd ramble onto the topic of thermoregulation. Anyhow, it's like an albatross sundial. Their feet are usually never raised higher than an inch.

Some birds spread out, head down, across the shrubs (Heliotrope spp.) and look like they are going to melt right through to the ground. They may feel like they are going to turn into a puddle at any minute. We all know the feeling. This spreading out helps them cope with the windless and thus quite warmer days. Frigatebirds (Fregata spp.) do this too. Red-footed Booby juveniles and frigatebirds can look quite pitiful when draped over the shrubbery.

Frigatebirds also break out the "yoga" pose, too.
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor), female, subadult

You should see a group of them on the ground doing this. I've seen four of them roughly make a square with their wings outstretched in this manner. I'm serious.

It's been a long, hot and windless day. I'm glad I have tomorrow off.

"Oh, the land of cloudless days

Oh, the land of an unclouded sky..

They tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise

Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day."

-mwyork