ALCOHOL RESORPTION AND ALCOHOL DEGRADATIO N IN THE EUROPEAN STARLING STURNUS-VULGARIS

All tested blood parameters are within the expected range for birds (T ab. 1). Starlings show a high rate of alcohol resorption. Experimental ly ingested (per os) doses of 1, 2 and 3 g/kg ethanol(10 %-solution) w ere completely absorbed from the digestive tract within at least 30 mi n. Extraintestinal metabolic alcohol degradation is also very fast. Wi thin 130 min even 3 g/kg ethanol were completely metabolised (blood al cohol values did not exceed 145 mg/l; Tab. 2, Fig. a). Alcoholdehydrog enase (ADH) activity is very high (ca. 14-fold of man) and shows a cle ar and fast adaptive plasticity in correlation to ingested alcohol con centration (Fig. b). There seems to be a clear pre-adaptation in ADH-a ctivity in birds. We found low values in seed-earing birds and high va lues in fruiteaters. Under field conditions normal alcohol concentrati on as found in fermentated fruits and berries are so low, that - in co nnection with high ADH-activity - birds obviously have no problems to cope with alcohol.