PREVIEW

Water is dripping from the beak of a white stork (Ciconia ciconia), which it has brought for a chick. In light of the ongoing heat wave in the region, the parent birds are making more frequent trips to watering holes to transport water in their crops to their young. Deliberately pouring the water into the chicks· beaks protects them from the threat of heat-related death and cools them from the inside out. According to experts, such behaviors are vital for survival during extreme temperatures, as the unprotected nests are exposed to the blazing sun.