Screaming your lungs out?

It was short holidays for the SMAP contest! I was counting for at least a couple of weeks, but since it's back, might as well contribute. This week's theme is BIRD WITH OPEN BEAK; you can find the original post here!

Some geekish facts: open beak in a bird can mean a ton of things; in warm weather, it normally represents a way of cooling down! Since birds lack sweat glands, they have to rely on other measures to dissipate heat, and panting is one of those ways. Do take care, thow: if your pet bird is more letargic and has an open beak breathing, do see your avian vet; birds tend to hide signs of illness, and an open beak can also be a sign of respiratory disease!

In this case, it was just a lot of heat, thow:

^{Common mynah - Acridotheres tristis}

This mynah was walking around the little cafe in Phi Phi islands, Thailand, and I can assure it was HOT! Now that I look at the photo, I'm having some doubts whether if it was just the heat, or if he was complaining for me not sharing part of my meal with him!

Bigger birds suffer from heat too! In another beautiful asian country, Malaysia, found another "open-beaker".

^{Malabar-pied hornbill - Anthracocerus coronatus}

It was hot but... do you notice that grey sky? Minutes after this photo was taken, a huge storm started! I wanted to take more photos, but the heavy rain made it impossible. Despite the seemingly white beak, the beak is actually yellow with a little bit of black; damn contrast completely changed the colour.

Another reason to keep an open beak: feeding time!

^{Roadside hawk - Rupornis magnirostris}

This roadside hawk was spotted at.. a roadside, surprise! And he was feeding on something I couldn't identify. The photo was taken in a short break between the bites. It was a lucky shot, I don't have that much opportunities to photograph birds of prey standing still, let alone feeding.

And yet another reason to open the beak? Well, for one of the reasons we love birds: their songs! Or should I say in this case... screams?

^{Indsian jungle crow - Corvus culminatus}

This crow decided to enrich my lunch in Sri Lanka and behave like the local DJ: its "delightful singing" went on for what seemed an eternity! 😁

Fortunately for me, in Portugal there are singers with a less harsh voice. The iberian grey shrike is one of them.

^{Iberian grey shrike / Picanço real (PT) - Lanius meridionalis}

He was singing in the fields near the beach, in southwestern Portugal. And I'm glad it did, it made the spotting a lot easier!

And on the way to the beach, another singer, one I usually see near the beach.

^{Crested lark / Cotovia de poupa (PT) - Galerida cristata}

And this was my open beaks collection for you. Curious to see the other entries!

Happy birding everyone!

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