Nov 11, 2006

Urohydrosis is the Best!

The california condor is an amazing bird. It is known for its endangered status, its appearance, and for its enormous size. But did you know that they defecate on their feet to help control their core body temperature? That's called urohydrosis.

I'll bet that's exactly the kind of factoid you were looking forward to having stuffed in your head today. You're welcome. Come again.


Photo taken by Mike Davis.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh yea....I always wanted to know that. Not!

Garfman said...

...Is it strange that I already knew that? Oh well.

Raging Wombat said...

I would expect nothing less from you, garfman.

Kat - are there any food dishes that feature condor in them? :)

Anonymous said...

John Nielsen, an NPR science reporter, just wrote a great book about California Condors:
http://www.condorbook.com/
They are amazing creatures!
-Katie

Raging Wombat said...

That sounds like a great book, Katie. I've read that there used to be so many condors, that when they flew overhead they would block out the sun. Lame humans.