If you’d like to see more birds while they are active, it helps to be aware of their habits and what time birds go to sleep.
All birds sleep, but different birds go to sleep at different times, depending on whether they are nocturnal or diurnal.
Diurnal birds
Diurnal birds start to roost at sunset, ready to go to sleep when it is dark. These birds’ sleeping times are from sunset to sunrise.
As well as needing to sleep for rest, the majority of diurnal birds can only see during the daytime. When it gets dark, their eyes can’t see to fly around or find their food, so they go to sleep.
Nocturnal birds
The best time for nocturnal birds to sleep is during the daylight hours. They wake up as the other birds are getting ready to sleep.
Do birds have a sleep schedule?
Sleep is as important for birds as it is for humans. There are two main reasons why they sleep.
During the time that birds spend asleep, their bodies are resting and growing. The rest of their lives are full of activity – flying and looking for food. By the night time they are tired and need to recover.
This is true for the majority of birds, who are awake from dawn until dusk then sleep at night.
But there are also nocturnal birds, whose sleep schedule is during the day. Their most active time is when it is dark.
What do birds do at night?
What birds do at night time depends on the birds. Birds can be either nocturnal or diurnal.
Diurnal birds are active in the daytime and so the time they sleep is at night. Most birds, like songbirds and hummingbirds, are in this group.
What nocturnal birds do at night
Nocturnal birds sleep in the daytime and are active at night. Examples of nocturnal birds are nighthawks, nightjars, night herons, owls and frogmouths.
After sleeping all day, nocturnal birds wake up when the sun sets. Their eyes are equipped to function in the dark and this is the time that they are most active.
At night, the nocturnal birds hunt and forage for food. They will do similar activities to the diurnal birds, like preening, looking for mates and taking care of their young.
Interestingly, there are also groups of diurnal land birds who use the night time to migrate, either in one long nonstop flight or in various stages. These birds who migrate at night include sparrows, warblers and thrushes.
LINK – To learn more about these birds, who begin their long-distance migration at night, read our article here.
How do birds sleep?
The way that birds sleep is very interesting because they can control it in a way that humans and other mammals cannot.
While birds sleep, half of their brain stays alert. This is called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS).
Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep: why do birds sleep with their eyes open?
The benefit of unihemispheric slow-wave sleep is that the bird remains alert to any predators. It is a protective response to their environment, also used by other animals such as dolphins and whales.
Using unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, birds keep one eye open and are aware of their surroundings and any potential danger. The wider a bird’s eye is open, the more conscious it is.
This is a kind of compromise for the bird. While it is better in some ways for the bird to be alert to any threat, a deeper level of sleep would be more restorative.
Albatrosses, alpine swifts and some other species are even able to fly while asleep with their single eye open.
Can birds sleep in the light?
If birds sleep with one eye at least partially open, does light bother them?
Artificial light, from buildings, vehicles or street lights can bother birds and disturb their sleep.
If you hear birds singing in the evening, especially robins or sparrows in urban or suburban areas, it could be that they are suffering insomnia due to nearby light sources.
Birds prefer to sleep in places, where they can sleep more deeply – still with one eye open, of course! They would typically find a place to sleep that is dark and quiet.
Why do birds sing at night?
If you hear unusual chirping at night, it indicates that diurnal birds have been disturbed by some light or noise nearby. Because it is light, they think it is time to wake up and start singing.
You may also notice more birdsong on nights when the moon is brighter, for the same reasons.
Other birds use the night time to sing, when they can be heard better.
Human noise from activities like traffic or construction tends to lessen at night. Then, the comparative quietness allows bird song to be heard from further away.
As well as marking their territory and deterring competitors from moving in on their patch, birds will use night singing to attract mates.
Which birds sing at night?
You’ll be most likely to hear singing at night during breeding season, from birds such as common nightingales, barn owls, American robins and hermit thrushes.
Sedge warblers and the northern mockingbird have great stamina for nocturnal singing and at times can be heard all through the night. The whip-poor-will, from the nightjar family, often seems to sing endlessly on summer nights while it is out foraging.
Flying when it’s dark: do birds migrate at night?
While most of the birdsong you hear in the night will be from trees or at ground level, at certain times of the year, you may notice bird sound from overhead.
Depending on the season, this may be coming from migratory birds. Though they are normally diurnal, most songbirds make their migration while their predators are asleep.
Migrating raptors use the thermal currents during the day to fly and glide, leaving the skies quieter and safer for the songbirds to fly at night.
Often the weather is calmer at this time too, so the smaller birds benefit from an easier flight. They also use the stars for navigation.
While they are flying in the dark, migratory birds have distinct calls used specifically at night while they are in transit. Scientists refer to these as nocturnal flight calls (NFCs).
After they have spent night times migrating, birds can sleep for several days to recover.
Do birds take naps or sleep during the day?
As well as the nocturnal birds, for whom it is natural to sleep in the daytime, there are times when diurnal birds also take a nap during the day.
Birds may take many short naps throughout the daytime, with their amazing ability to use their unihemispheric slow-wave sleep to stay alert while resting.
Migratory birds’ sleeping habits
Migratory birds who have been flying all night need to get some sleep during the day as well as feeding to replenish their energy.
Some birds even have the ability to nap while flying, like magnificent frigatebirds. While they are on their long migratory journeys, frigatebirds might fly for extended periods over oceans without any land to rest on.
In order to rest rather than go for days without sleep, frigatebirds manage to sleep while keeping one eye open and focused in the direction that they are heading.
Birds who have found enough food may sleep during the day in the absence of anything else constructive to do. They are too efficient to waste energy just flying about for no purpose.
Shorebirds’ sleeping habits
Some shorebirds demonstrate this by saving their energy during high tide.
Waders need the tide to be low in order to find their food. As their primary activity of feeding is impossible during high tide, they may as well conserve their energy and adapt their sleep pattern to the tide times.
Bird watchers interested in seeing waders in action might find success by timing their observation for low tide.
Around that time, whatever hour of the day or night, the birds will be using their sense of touch to search the mud and shallow water for their food. During high tide, they are more likely to be sleeping.
How seasons affect birds’ sleeping habits
Just as their migratory journeys are seasonal, birds’ sleep patterns can be seasonal too. Longer night times will mean that diurnal birds sleep for longer because they are unable to see in the dark.
When darkness falls they need to seek refuge in a sheltered place as their inability to see means that they move about to find their food. It also makes them vulnerable to predators.
Birds’ sleeping patterns: final thoughts
Knowing the routines of birds can lead to a better understanding of the best times to go bird watching.
With an awareness of what time birds go to sleep, their quirky sleeping habits, and the reasons behind their behavior, it’s easier to plan how and where to go to observe them.
In this way, you can give yourself the best chance of seeing the particular birds that pique your interest – without necessarily having to get up extra early to experience the dawn chorus!
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