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Behavioral Adaptations
Columba Livia does a few things to regulate its body temperature. Normally it will drink water after they have eaten, but when stressed by heat they can drink whenever needed to lower their body temperature. . Another way it can regulate its heat is through Ptilomotor responses. Ptilomotor responses allow for better insulation of the body, because smooth muscle contractions make the feathers stand up straighter, which traps more air next to the skin. Columba Livia exhibits Ta, ambiant temperature, selecting behavior. It will seek out its desired thermal neutral zone temperatures, in order to expend less energy heating and cooling its body.

Physiological Changes to Blood Flow
Areas poorly or not insulated by feathers such as the beak, head, and feet have vasomotor responses. To reduce heat loss while in cold atmospheric temperatures, endothermic animals will lower the skin temperature by restricting the amount of blood that reaches it, called vasoconstriction. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the constriction of the vascular beds at low temperatures. Vasodialation does the opposite; to increase the heat lost by convection after high muscular activity or from heat stress, Columba Livia increases its blood flow to the surface of its body. Cutaneous tissue of the beak, feet, and bends in the wings are dilated. To regulate brain temperature it uses the vascular vessels(plexus) in the eyes, in combination with vasomotion. Evaporation is usually controlled by sweat glands, however, birds use their breathing pattern to control heat dissipation. The frequency in breathing depends on body temperature, Tb; to increase respiratory evaporation the bird's breathing rate would increase. The most important thermoregulatory mechanism is called shivering thermogenesis. The skeletal muscles are used to generate heat through contractions when the surrounding air, Ta, is below its thermal neutral zone. As the temperature drops, the shivering increases to generate more heat. Non-shivering thermogenesis is used by Columba Livia, when exposed to cold to generate heat; an increase in Na+/K+-ATPase activity drives this mechanism in the liver.