Regulatory drinking in the pigeon Columba livia

Pigeons were subjected to stimuli known to induce regulatory drinking in mammals. Water-satiated birds drank in response to intravenous (iv) hypertonic NaCl, intraperitoneal (ip) hyperoncotic polyethylene glycol (PEG) (20 M), iv infusions of angiotensinamide, subcutaneous (sc) isoprenaline, and iv chicken kidney extract. Intravenous porcine renin failed to elicit a major drinking response. Drinking after water deprivation was reduced by an iv preload of isotonic saline. Water intake after iv hypertonic NaCl equaled the volume required for dilution to isotonicity. Water intake in response to ip PEG was larger than in rats and resulted in a parallel increase in body weight. Sensitivity to isoprenaline and angiotensinamide was less than or equal to that of rats although pigeons drank much more. Drinking responses to iv hypertonic NaCl plus ip hyperoncotic PEG were additive. Small (5 ml/kg body wt) blood losses induced delayed (after 4 h) drinking; larger blood losses were ineffective. There was no simple additive relationship between the responses to hemorrhage and hypertonic saline. In summary, the dipsogenic response of pigeons was much greater than that of mammals although sensitivity was sometimes higher and sometimes lower.