LIGHTING FOR BIRDS

Arcadia Products plc Customer support: 0871 208 8800 Email: [email protected]

www.arcadia-uk.com QA250

Light for life

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LIGHTING FOR BIRDS

WHY DO BIRDS REQUIRE SPECIAL LIGHTING?… Unlike humans, birds can see the ultraviolet (UV) light that is a component of natural sunlight. In birds UV light influences behaviour such as reproduction and feeding – for a bird life without UV would be the equivalent of humans seeing everything in black and white. A bird kept inside may well be deprived of UV light. Sunlight passing through a window has most of its UV component filtered out by the glass, and normal domestic light sources do not emit UV. Where a bird is not kept outside, lighting that includes the UV spectrum should be provided.

Light for life

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ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT INFLUENCES • • • • •

Vitamin D3 Production Vision Feeding Behaviour Breeding

Vitamin D3 synthesis

Vision

Vitamin D3 is required by birds for healthy bone development. Many species can synthesize vitamin D3 from sunlight through their skin. Specifically, it is the UVB light within the spectrum that enables D3 synthesis. As birds are covered in feathers, they are unable to use their skin in this way. In most birds, the preen gland collects the precursor D3 from the bloodstream, and concentrates it in the gland oils.

The retina of the eye contains cones, which, when stimulated by different wavelengths of light, transmit colour information to the brain. In a human eye, there are three types of cones, enabling us to perceive three primary colours: red, green and blue. This is known as trichromatic vision, the combination of these colours enables us to perceive thousands of different colours.

These are then exposed to UVB light by the bird spreading the gland oils on to its feathers during preening. The bird then ingests the UV exposed material when it preens itself again, and oil enters the body as previtamin D. The liver and kidney then convert this to vitamin D3.

Birds have a fourth cone, which is sensitive to UV light, and can perceive four primary colours, the additional colour being UV. This is known as tetrachromatic vision. In humans, UV light is unable to pass through the lens of the eye, but the bird has no such limitation. The latest research has discovered that some birds can even see five primary colours (i.e. have pentachromatic vision), being able to differentiate between two different wavelengths of UV.

Light for life

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Feeding UV perception plays a significant role in the selective intake of food. Ripe fruit and berries appear a different colour to a bird and pollinating flowers often UV reflections, assisting the bird to home in. What a bird sees affects its appetite. Reds are redder and greens greener with UV. A reluctant feeder may need UVA light to stimulate its appetite.

Behaviour Without a balanced source of light, the oculoendocrine cycle (light to the pituitary and pineal gland) is affected. This affects every aspect of a bird’s life resulting in agitation, picking behaviours, weakness, breeding problems, and metabolic disorders.

Breeding Birds’ feathers reflect UV light and this reflection of the plumage plays a role in the sexual selection of birds. As birds are able to distinguish UV light as a separate colour or colours, the UV component in daylight can radically alter their visual perception of another bird. Birds such as mynah birds that appear black to the human eye will appear multi coloured to the avian eye. In some species, birds require light in the UV wavelengths in order to differentiate between the sexes.

Light for life

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THE ARCADIA BIRD LAMP RANGE • Produces excellent natural colours and iridescence

Code FB08 FB15 FB18 FB30 FB36 FB58

• Contains 2.4% UV-B and 12% UV-A for optimal avian use • Improves feeding and breeding behaviour

Lamp (Watt) 8W 15W 18W 30W 36W 58W

300mm / 12” 450mm / 18” 600mm / 24” 900mm / 36” 1200mm / 48” 1500mm / 60”

COMPACT FLUORESCENT BIRD LAMP Additional features of the compact lamp include: • Bayonet or screw fitting for ease of use in the home

*

• Fits straight into household light socket - no need for a ballast • Electronic - zero flicker, even to the eyes of the bird

**

What do we mean by full spectrum light? By full spectrum, we mean a balanced light output output across the visual spectrum, including the UV segment. Many modern triphosphor tubes have three peaks of energy that match the three colours that our eyes perceive. The output of these lamps is optimised for the human eye, and the lamp appears very bright, but these spectral peaks do not necessarily match the avian eye, and there is no UV present. A full spectrum lamp offers a balanced spectral output, with the gaps between the triphosphor peaks being filled in with light emitted from a halo phosphate mixture. In addition, UV emitting phosphors are added, which account for 5% of the lamps overall output. This is split into 12% UVA and 2.4% UVB.

• Use to mount compact Bird Lamp over cage

The overall colour of the tube’s light output should be close to that of natural sunlight, which is 5,500K. The Arcadia Bird Lamp is very close to this at 5,600K. For birds, a colour temperature of higher than 5,800K is not suitable as increasing the light in the blue part of the spectrum produces primarily female offspring. Full spectrum light should also produce accurate colour rendition. The Arcadia Bird Lamp achieves this, with a Class 1A specification.

• Prevents cable falling between bars

Recommendations when using the Arcadia Bird Lamp

• Energy saving 20W lamp • Output equivalent to 100W incandescent bulb

FBC20X FBC20

Screw fitting * Bayonet version **

BIRD CAGE LAMPHOLDER

• For use with E27 screw fitting lamp • Manual switch on lead

ADBH

COMPACT LAMP REFLECTOR • Specifically for use with compact Bird Lamp • Focuses all lamp output into the cage • Maximises benefit of the lamp • Computer designed for optimum performance • Protects user from glare

ALRC23

For linear fluorescent lamps, ensure that the light fitting uses a highfrequency electronic ballast – birds can detect the flicker (which is invisible to the human eye) of a lamp used with a conventional magnetic ballast and starter unit. Fittings with electronic ballasts are also more energy efficient, so any difference in the purchase cost should be recovered in use. Do not use the Arcadia Bird lamps behind and type of glass or plastic shield or diffuser unless it is marked as being UV transmissive, as most conventional shades or diffusers will block the UV component of the light.

Light for life

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The effect of daylight hours on a bird Birds perceive light in two ways. Firstly, through the eye. The retina of the eye is capable of transmitting information about the intensity, colour composition, and polarisation (direction) of light. This information travels in two directions; to the brain via the optic nerve, and through a special pathway to the pituitary gland. Birds have an additional way of perceiving light, a special gland which surrounds the eye, called the Harderian Gland. This gland measures the duration of light a bird experiences, known as the photoperiod, and passes this information onto the pineal gland. Both the pituitary gland and the pineal gland act as regulators to the endocrine system and thus effect the whole metabolism of the bird. To ensure that the bird’s health is optimised, your lighting should be turned on one hour after sunrise and turned off one hour before sunset. This may be facilitated by using a timer. Thus the natural annual cycle of daylight is maintained, and the bird’s natural cycle for reproductive conditions, and consequently feathering cycle, is maintained. Breeders will be aware that breeding behaviours can be induced by artificially extending the photoperiod to 14-16 hours. In most cases this should be done gradually. Where this fails, a sudden increase may work.