WARMER CLIMATES Huger beaks

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Extraordinary Beaks

One of Rainforest Expeditions’ partner groups is Pandemonium Aviaries, 501(c)3 non-profit bird sanctuary where exotic endangered birds are being kept and bred until they can be reintroduced to their native communities. Based in Silicon Valley and founded in 1996, Pandemonium Aviaries has helped upwards of 350 birds and continues to grow through both local and worldwide support. Among the numerous aviaries, there is a small population of macaws that dance, sing and play.

For those of us that started our relationships with birds tentatively and with the slightest tinge of fear accompanying the awe, noticing the beaks on macaws is an automatic first instinct. And why wouldn’t we? They’re something amazing. The most conservative estimate would have macaw beaks exerting a pressure of over 500 pounds per square inch, and they easily crush Brazil nuts. If that doesn’t intrinsically reinforce being over cautious, nothing will.

toucan beak 1

There are a lot of uses for beaks that come quickly to mind, in addition to crushing Brazil nuts or lunging at an overeager acquaintance to assert their boundaries. Fighting, foraging, killing prey, feeding their young, using objects, luring potential mates– things we have come to expect. But perhaps, we are missing a more delicate feature of beaks.

When comparing the native sparrows, finches, and Jays that visit Pandemonium Aviaries to the enormous-beaked birds that enamor visitors through Peru Nature, the idea is that birds from warmer climates have larger beaks than those from colder climates is obvious. But why? What accounts for the huge beaks of the toucans, for example, that one can see when taking a trip with Peru Nature?

One reason for these beak sizes may be that toucans have shown the ability to regulate their temperatures with their beaks. Considering that birds already operate at a higher metabolic rate than mammals, keeping cool is a very important process and these thermal windows are critical. Luckily enough, toucan beaks are richly lined with blood vessels. By being able to modify the blood flow to their beaks, they can control how they will radiate body heat. When the toucans overheat, blood rushes to their beaks; when the weather is colder, they restrict the flow.

 

In infrared pictures, you can see the toucan’s beak light up like an incandescent bulb when they get warmer than their liking. In fact, regulating blood flow in their beaks can account for 30% to 60% of their body’s total heat loss, and it is estimated that toucans can lose as much as four times their resting heat through their beaks.

extraordinary-beaks

While the beaks of tropical birds may register with us first and foremost for their power and strength, we must also recognize that they are even more complicated than we may have anticipated. And while the thermoregulation studies haven’t quite panned through with macaws to the same extent as they have with toucans, I can’t help but admire the macaw smiles at Pandemonium Aviaries when they take a break from dancing.

 

By Iva Petrovchich, Pandemonium Aviaries intern

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This trip was the highlight of our travels through peru. The lodge was absolutely 5 stars for everything. The room, food, people. We had a private guide, Allen, who grew up locally and really had deep knowledge of the land, the history, and the variety of plant and animal species in the jungle. His knowledge and passion were invaluable to our experience. There are a variety of tour companies and lodges you can book to visit the Amazon, however, I would only recommend Rainforest Expeditions as they are truly connected to the community and offer high quality first class amazon experience! Read all

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An unforgettable, fully immersive jungle experience. Amazing how Tambopata Lodge delivers luxury touches in such a remote and rugged location. The food is fantastic, the staff incredible, and the wildlife sightings non-stop. The personalised itinerary and one-on-one guiding made the trip truly special—huge thanks to our guide Johan for sharing his passion and knowledge. The Macaw Project is inspiring, and it’s clear the lodge fully supports this important conservation work. Manager Brian was always kind, helpful. Well-done all involved. Read all

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Fantastic to be deep in the forest surrounded by incredible wildlife with our amazing guide Juan Carlos Yatto, who really knew his stuff! Also his photography skills meant that we could share our experience even better through his telescope using our phone cameras! We learned so much!! He went to extra lengths to find butterflies and moths for us along with so many different birds and monkeys. This was a travel highlight for us as experienced wildlife travellers. We loved our spacious room with no windows and open to more wildlife visitors but after 5 nights the bed could have been a little more comfortable. Luckily we had a second bed to use. Otherwise it was fantastic with hot water showers and fresh drinking water all the time. We were amazed at the variety of food on offer for breakfast, lunch and dinner and couldn’t believe they could have such a wonderful food offering in such a remote location. Even the wine and cocktails were great. I highly recommend spending the extra money and time getting to this location. We stayed at another lodge later which was closer to Puerto Maldonado and there was far less wildlife. Read all

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