Summary
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1.
Brain (hypothalamic) and cloacal temperatures were measured in heat-stressed Lesser Nighthawks (Chordeiles acutipennis), Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Pigeons (Columba livia), and White-Necked Ravens (Corvus cryptoleucus) and in one Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). Range of mean body masses was 0.047 to 1.156 kg.
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2.
In all these species brain temperatures were always below cloacal temperatures (Fig. 1). The body-to-brain temperature difference was maintained nearly constant within a species over a wide range of cloacal and air temperatures, and varied in magnitude from 0.80°C in the Roadrunner to 1.29°C in Mallards.
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3.
The presence of arete mirabile ophthalmicum was demonstrated in all five species. This rete may be associated with the observed pattern of brain temperature control.
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4.
The body-to-brain temperature difference may be important in avoiding brain damage during core hyperthermia.
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Kilgore, D.L., Bernstein, M.H. & Hudson, D.M. Brain temperatures in birds. J Comp Physiol B 110, 209–215 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00689309
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00689309