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Most birds are homeothermic, normally maintaining their body temperature within a range of less than 1 °C (1.8 °F) by active metabolic means. However, some small birds are heterothermic, in that they allow their nocturnal body temperature to drop by as much as 10 °C (18 °F). In birds severe cooling induces shivering in particular muscles and causes cardiovascular and metabolic changes. In fact, there is little evidence of nonshivering thermogenesis (metabolic heat production) in adult birds, since birds do not have the heat-generating brown adipose tissue found in mammals. Studies in the pigeon Columba livia have indicated that peripheral ...(100 of 6647 words)