How birds dissipate heat before, during and after flight

During flight, birds must dissipate heat to avoid hyperthermia. We used thermal imaging to determine the dissipation of heat from different body regions in lovebirds before, during and after flight. The high power demands of flight, resulted in a 19-fold increase in heat dissipation during, compared to after, flight, with most heat dissipated by convection from the lower surface of the wings. After flight, heat dissipation from the head and legs increased compared to before flight. Understanding the mechanisms through which birds dissipate heat is important in predicting how birds’ behaviour and survival may be impacted by climate change. This is the data set for the study.