Drinking and bathing by raptors in central Namibia.

Raptors are thought to obtain much of their water from their food or free water. However, there are few publications about raptors drinking water or their behaviour at waterholes. This study analysed 6,302 camera trap observations of raptors at waterholes in north-central Namibia. Of 44 species recorded in the area, 10 were never recorded at water, whereas another 13 species were recorded 100 or more times at water. While there, raptors spent most time drinking, standing in the water, or bathing. Diurnal raptors usually visited water in the middle – and heat – of the day while owls were present throughout the night. Most visits to water were between May and November which were the driest months of the year. These findings indicate that many raptors make greater and seasonally changing use of water than is commonly assumed, probably to help meet their physiological needs for water and thermoregulation. Other raptors have little or no need for standing water, begging questions about why and how these differences and variations exist.