During the day it is too hot and at night it is too dangerous because of predators. The Arab Babbler (Argya squamiceps) in the Arava Desert in southern Israel is caught between two evils. Then there is more than one thing to do: get up early and get back on track on time. And that is exactly what the bird does. All daily activities must be done in two forty-five-minute periods, the first at sunrise and the last at sunset.
Arabian babblers are gregarious animals that chatter socially (hence their name) in search of food at first light. Insects, berries or leaves – everything is good, because in the barren desert with a meager supply you cannot be picky. When the owls and snakes look for their hiding places early in the morning, the babblers have to strike quickly, before the sun is so high in the sky again that it is no longer bearable. In the evening twilight there is still the same space for the birds.
Israeli biologists took stock in Proceedings of the Royal Society B how this bird species responds to climate change. They find that the average summer temperature in the Arava Desert increased by 2 degrees in the past 31 years. Probably in response, the Arabian babbler has started his day 8.8 minutes earlier during the last eleven summers. Increasingly pushed back at dusk, when it is less easy to find food and the danger from predators is greater. The researchers fear that things will not end well for the bird species; it will not be long before all its room for maneuver is used up.
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