Abstract
Background: A solar eclipse is an occasional natural phenomenon that can alter the physical and biological processes of organisms. On 21 June 2020 a unique opportunity was offered to evaluate how birds change their behaviour during an eclipse. Bird behaviour was categorised using a scan-sampling technique before, during and after the solar eclipse, and at a different time of eclipse day. Results: Before the eclipse major activity categories were moving (52.45%), foraging (40.20%), and courtship (2.94%) respectively, but there were no roosting/resting observations at this time. These behaviours were much reduced during the eclipse, while roosting accounted for 14.6% of behaviour. When the eclipse began at 06:50, their calling and flying increased, and singing decreased. At maximum eclipse (07:20h), there was a profound decrease in calling, singing, foraging and moving, and courtship; while washing and floating were not observed. After the eclipse, most time was spent foraging (36.3%), followed by moving (flying), with roosting reduced to 2.4%. Conclusions: Clear and radical behavioural changes were observed when the eclipse was started and maximum. Responses of birds to the environmental factor changes associated with the solar eclipse might be the root cause of observed unusual behavioural change.
Highlights
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks sunlight from reaching the earth (Sambandan et al, 2012; Shanida et al, 2016)
Solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of unexpected darkness on behaviour of animals due to their sudden interference with local light levels and meteorology (Ritson et al, 2019 and Hartstone-Rose et al, 2020)
This study presents results on bird behavioural changes before, during and after the solar eclipse that occurred in Ethiopia on June 21, 2020
Summary
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks sunlight from reaching the earth (Sambandan et al, 2012; Shanida et al, 2016). Solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of unexpected darkness on behaviour of animals due to their sudden interference with local light levels and meteorology (Ritson et al, 2019 and Hartstone-Rose et al, 2020) During this event, unusual behaviour of animals has been recorded such as birds ceasing to call (Hughes et al, 2014), birds returning to nocturnal roosts (Wheeler et al, 1935 and Jennings et al, 1998), nocturnal insects taking flight (Wheeler et al, 1935 and Greenbank et al, 1980), diurnal fish seeking shelter and nocturnal fishes emerging (Jennings et al, 1998), spiders destroying and deconstructing their webs (Uetz et al, 1994), bats flying down a ravine (Pandey and Shukla, 1982 and Sanchez et al, 1999), and captive animals altering their activity (Kavanau and Rischer,1973; Mukherjhee, 1984; Branch and Gust, 1986 and Gil-Burmann, and Beltrami, 2003). Most time was spent foraging (36.3%), followed by moving (flying), with roosting reduced to 2.4%
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