Portuguese birds struggle to survive amid extreme heatwaves

Researchers say Portugal's recurring heatwaves are pushing wild birds to their limits, especially during the breeding season. Species such as storks, black vultures, kestrels and lesser kestrels use behaviours like shading chicks with their wings, dousing them with water, or reducing activity during the hottest hours. But these strategies carry costs: less foraging time means less food for chicks, and nestlings trapped in nests or cavities cannot escape the heat, sometimes dying of hyperthermia or dehydration, or jumping out and dying on the ground. Researchers Inês Catry and Eduardo Santos warn that as heatwaves grow more frequent and intense, survival costs for birds will keep rising.