Why do mother birds cover their babies with their wings?

Mother birds covering their chicks or eggs with their wings is a common behavior that serves several important purposes. The main reasons why mother birds use their wings to cover their babies include:

Warmth

Baby birds have very little ability to regulate their own body temperature. Mother birds sitting on top of their eggs or chicks provides critical warmth that the babies need to survive and develop properly. A mother bird’s brood patch is a bare area of skin on her belly designed specifically to transfer body heat to the eggs or chicks beneath her.

The temperature under a mother bird’s wings provides the ideal environment for embryos to develop and hatch. Once chicks have hatched, they still rely on their mother’s warmth for several days or weeks since their feathers are not fully developed. Covering the chicks with her wings allows the mother to keep them at the proper temperature as they grow.

Protection

A mother bird covering her chicks with her wings also serves to physically protect them from harm. Her wings act as a shield from predators, severe weather, and other external threats that could injure or kill vulnerable chicks.

The concealment offered under a mother’s wings helps hide the chicks from predators when the mother needs to briefly leave the nest to find food. It also creates a small microclimate that buffers chicks from wind, rain, excessive sun, and other hazardous environmental conditions.

Security

The act of covering her chicks also provides an important sense of safety and security for the young birds. Chicks instinctively understand that under their mother’s wings is the safest place for them to be. This gives the chicks a strong assurance that their mother is protecting them.

Mother birds often use their wings to cover their chicks when danger approaches like a predator or intruder. The darkness under her wings signals to the chicks that they should remain still and quiet. This gives them the best chance of avoiding detection and harm.

Bonding

Time spent under the mother’s wings also allows for crucial bonding between the parent and her offspring. This close physical contact during the earliest stages of life is vital for the chicks’ growth and proper development.

The more time chicks spend being covered by their mother’s wings, the stronger the parental bond will be. This helps ensure the mother continues to provide adequate care and protection for her young as they mature and fledge from the nest.

Rest

Mother birds often use their wings to cover sleeping chicks at night or during rest periods. The darkness helps trigger a calming hormone release in the chicks that allows them to sleep. Their mother’s presence also gives the chicks a sense of safety so they can fully relax under her wings.

Proper rest is essential for the rapid growth and development that occurs in chicks. By using her wings to provide cover, the mother bird ensures her babies are getting adequate sleep to support their maturation.

When Do Mother Birds Cover Their Chicks?

Mother birds use their wings to cover their chicks in many situations, including:

• At night or during naps for warmth and security
• During feeding visits when the mother is away finding food
• In cold weather to maintain hatchlings’ body heat
• In response to signs of danger like predators nearby
• To protect from rain, wind, or excessive sun
• During the earliest days after hatching when chicks are most vulnerable

How Long Do Mother Birds Cover Their Babies?

The amount of time a mother bird will cover her chicks depends on the species and stage of development:

As chicks grow, the frequency and duration of covering behavior decreases. But mother birds still use their wings regularly until chicks are ready to leave the nest.

Do All Bird Species Cover Their Chicks?

The vast majority of bird species exhibit chick-covering behavior to some degree. Some examples of birds that use their wings to cover their young include:

• Chickens
• Ducks
• Geese
• Swans
• Eagles
• Hawks
• Owls
• Herons
• Penguins
• Pigeons
• Parrots
• Finches

In some species, like cuckoos or cowbirds, the mothers do not cover the chicks since they lay their eggs parasitically in other birds’ nests. But the foster parents of their chicks will cover them.

Both male and female parents may cover their chicks in species where the father also helps care for the young, such as waterfowl and parrots. But in most songbirds and raptors, primarily the mother covers the chicks while the male provides food.

Why Do Chicks Need Covering Less as They Mature?

Chicks require less frequent covering from their mothers as they grow for several reasons:

• Their feather coating fills in, allowing them to regulate their temperature.
• They gain mobility and can move around the nest.
• Their eyes open allowing them to better sense danger.
• They have greater energy reserves and stamina.
• Their immune system and natural defenses strengthen.

While young chicks are essentially helpless, older chicks that have most of their feathers can maintain their own body heat. They also begin walking around the nest and have better abilities to flee or defend themselves from predators.

As the chicks near the age where they will fledge, the mother bird intentionally covers them less often. This encourages them to spend more time out of the nest exercising their wings in preparation for flight.

Interesting Facts About Mother Birds Covering Chicks

• The high temperature under a mother bird’s wings can help determine the chicks’ sex during egg incubation.
• Some birds pluck feathers from their breast to form a brood patch that transfers heat better.
• Both parents develop brood patches in species where the father also covers the chicks.
• Penguins cover their feet rather than wings over their single chick.
• Mother hens communicate with specific clucking sounds to call their chicks under their wings.
• If a chick gets separated from its mother, it may sneak under the wing of a different adult bird.
• The mother’s heart rate slows down when covering chicks to avoid overheating them.
• Chicks peep from under their mother’s wings to beg for food when they get hungry.

Conclusion

A mother bird covering her chicks or eggs with her wings serves multiple crucial functions. The warmth, protection, security, and bonding provided by this natural behavior is vital for the chicks’ survival and proper growth. While the frequency of covering decreases as chicks mature, it remains an essential part of parenthood for most bird species.