I was thinking the same. There’s a thermoregulation cost to melting the snow internally, but it may be smaller than traveling to hard to find liquid water right now. This behavior must be common during severe winter weather.
Best,
Jim Benedix
J. H. Benedix Jr.
(he/him/his)
Professor, Biology Department
and
Biological Coordinator of the
DePauw University Nature Park
> On Jan 9, 2025, at 3:42 PM, Patricia Reynolds <eagleowl4180...> wrote:
>
> Guessing it is a substitute for drinking water.....
>
> Patti Reynolds Pres/Exec Dir
> Indiana Raptor Center Inc.
> PO Box 1153 Nashville IN 47448
> 812-988-8990
> <eagleowl4180...> <mailto:<eagleowl4180...> > http://www.indianaraptorcenter.org <http://www.indianaraptorcenter.org/> > Facebook - Indiana Raptor Center
>
>
> On Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 11:28:20 AM EST, Tanford, J. Alexander <tanford...> wrote:
>
>
> The day after the heavy snow, I saw several starlings outside my 2nd floor window eating snow that had accumulated in the crooks of tree branches. They did not seem to be hunting insects, because they would dip into the snow and then tilt their heads back and swallow. Each bird did this about 10 times and then flew back to the feeders.
>
> Is this common? Unusual" I had not seen it before.
>
> Alex
>
>
>
> James Alexander Tanford
> Prof. Emeritus, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
> 2303 E. Woodstock Pl, Bloomington IN 47401
> Note that my email address has changed to <tanford...>
