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| Ethiopian Bush-crow: Naked skin area could serve thermoregulation |
The Ethiopian Bush-crow
Zavattariornis stresemanni is an extremely range-restricted Ethiopian endemic that is confined to dry and relatively cool south Ethiopian acacia savannah habitats. It has been assumed that the specific temperature conditions in these areas might reflect a temperature optimum to which these birds have adapted. With non-tropical magpies Pica and ground-jays Podoces being among their closest relatives, bush-crows might have developed particular adaptive traits to persist under the tropical conditions of the south Ethiopian plains. However, this thermal adaptation hypothesis has not been tested so far. Using an infrared thermography system we investigated if bush-crows are able to regulate their body temperature by emitting heat.
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