Migratory birds sleep hundreds of times a day

To compensate for the loss of sleep during long night trips, migratory birds had to " make up for sleep " with hundreds of sleeps a day, each lasting only a few seconds. This is the new publication of animal research scientists.

Birds scream
(Photo: aztrogon.com)

Every fall, the Swainson sparrows must fly about 3,000 miles away from their habitats and births to the sunny areas of South America, Canada and Alaska. When spring came, they resumed a journey from South America to their homeland. Flights often take place at night, they fly continuously for hours, and have little time to sleep.

To find out why these birds can tolerate such long periods of fatigue, scientists observed the birds being kept in cages for 1 year, and recorded the time and time. they sleep. They found that during the fall and spring, the time when birds often migrate, the birds, even in the cage, completely change the schedule for their sleep. They stay up all night and rest during the day.

However, instead of long sleeps, they will sleep in many different times, averaging 9 seconds each time.

In addition, this bird sleeps in several different ways. Sometimes they only close one eye, while the other eye and half of the brain still work, helping them avoid the dangers lurking. Sometimes they aim at both eyes but sleep only dreamily.

By changing the state of sleep like that, the thrush and other migratory birds can rest and still ensure their safety.

What scientists have discovered with the sleep of migratory birds also shows that sleep is equally important for every living organism, not just humans or animals.

PHUONG ANH