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Articles

Vol. 20 No. 2 (1989)

NOTES: SUNBATHING IN THE BROWN CREEPER

Submitted
September 13, 2025
Published
April 1, 1989

Abstract

On 22 August 1988 at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County, California, I observed a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) move into a sunlit portion of a trunk of a Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and subsequently go through a sunbathing sequence. During this period the creeper spread its wings and tail, maximizing exposure to the bright sunbeam (Figure 1). Previously the bird had been foraging on well-shaded areas of the trees; when sunbathing it frequently kept its eyes closed as if it had difficulty adapting to the intensity of the direct sunlight. After a few minutes of sunbathing it did some preening, and then resumed foraging on trunks nearby.

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