Why a dedicated bird lamp?…
Unlike humans, birds can see the UV light that is a part of natural sunlight. The bird uses this UV light for behaviours such as reproduction and feeding - life without UV would be the equivalent of humans seeing everything in black and white, only worse. Without UV we are able to recognise the sex of another. In some breeds, birds require UV to differentiate the sexes.
Where a bird is not kept outside, UV light should be provided. Normal domestic lighting does not do this. Most domestic lights distort the natural colour of the bird. The Arcadia Bird Lamp has been designed to provide the correct level of UV for the bird, and show off its true colours.
What do we mean by full spectrum light?
By full spectrum, we mean a balanced light output across the full spectrum, including the UV segment. Many modern triphosphor tubes have three peaks of energy that match the three colours that our eyes perceive.
Thus the tube's effective output is maximised to the human eye, and the tube will appear very bright. These peaks do not necessarily match the avian eye, and there would be no UV present.
The true full spectrum tube offers a balanced spectrum, with the gaps between the triphosphor peaks being filled in with light emitted from a halo phosphate mixture. In addition, UV emitting phosphors have been added, which give account for some 15% of the tube's output. This is split into 12% UVA and 2.4% UVB.
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. Overloading the blue spectrum produces primarily female offspring. For this reason aquarium lamps should be avoided for bird use.Full spectrum light should also produce accurate colour rendition. The Arcadia Bird Lamp achieves this, with a Class 1A specification.
The importance of full spectrum light
Without a balanced source of light, the oculo-endocrine cycle (light to the pituitary and pineal gland) is affected. This affects every aspect of a bird's life. Skewed lighting can result in agitation, picking behaviours, weakness, breeding problems, and metabolic disorders.
Vitamin D3 synthesis
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. 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.
How a bird's visual system differs from the human system
The retina of the eye contains cones, which, when stimulated by different wavelengths of light, transmit colour information to the brain. In a human, 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.
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.
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.
The importance of UV to the bird
A bird kept inside may well be deprived of UV light. Sunlight passing through a window would have had most of its UV filtered out. In addition, normal domestic light sources do not emit UV. Thus, there is a definite need to add UV light, and the Arcadia Bird Lamp does this.
Birds' feathers reflect UV light. This reflection of the plumage plays a role in the sexual selection of birds. Breeding should be more successful with UV present.
Birds such as mynah birds that appear black to the human eye will appear multi coloured to the avian eye. The same would apply to some white birds.
UV perception plays a significant role in the selective intake of food. Ripe fruit and berries appear as a different colour to a bird. Pollinating flowers include UV reflections, assisting the bird to home in. What a bird sees affects its appetite. Reds are redder and greens are greener with UV. A reluctant feeder needs UVA light to stimulate its appetite.
UV for navigation
UV perception is used by birds for their navigation. Through the polarization of sunlight, a bird can tell which direction the light is coming from. This enables them to fly in the right direction.
Tips on use
Do not use a glass or protective lens between the lamp and the bird - this will reduce the UV light that your bird needs.
It is important that the Bird Lamp is replaced each year. UV phosphors deteriorate at three times the speed of visible light phosphors. The human eye cannot see this reduction but the lamp will be ineffective after one year's use.
Do not rely on lighting to provide all the vitamin D3 that your bird needs. Your bird's diet should also be appropriate.
Suspend the tube or tubes 12"to 18" above the top of the cage. An Arcadia reflector will ensure that all the light goes downward.
The addition of an Arcadia Reflector above the lamp will ensure that all the light is focused downwards and the intensity of the light is increased.
The suitability of other light sources for birds
Incandescent bulbs, including neodymium types do not emit UV and thus are not suitable for birds. Lamps high in UVB, such as reptile lamps, can cause cataracts, and should be avoided for bird use. Aquarium lamps do not offer the correct red blue ratio, and again should be avoided.
The main benefits are…
• The bird's general wellbeing
• Better breeding behaviour
• For displaying show birds