Birds, as with all living things, need water to survive. This water may come from moisture in their food like fruits and insects. Water also comes from the by products of chemical breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins within the body. However, most birds simply drink water from rain puddles, streams, ponds and lakes.
Drinking free water involves dipping the bill and then tipping the head back to allow the water to run down the throat, as in this Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) photographed by Lee Tiah Khee in November 2008.
This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
Bird Ecology Study Group Red-crowned Barbet drinking
[…] barbet, as with many other birds, is unable to suck in water. Instead it has to take small amounts, dipping its bill into the water […]