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Last Word is Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com
Why do so many birds like standing on one leg? And why don’t they fall over?
Mike Follows
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK
Birds’ feathers help keep them warm, but most of them don’t have feathers on their legs and feet. By standing on only one leg, birds reduce the amount of body heat lost through exposed skin. However, not all perching birds stand on one leg. This is because when they puff up their feathers to trap insulating air during cold weather, their shorter legs are often covered like a duvet.
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In 2017, a paper in the journal Biology Letters suggested that flamingos stand on one leg to conserve energy
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The birds most famous for standing on one leg are flamingos. Since many flamingos live in tropical climates, staying warm is unlikely to be why they do this.
In 2017, a in Biology Letters suggested that flamingos stand on one leg to conserve energy. It showed that flamingo cadavers can stay upright on one leg if the foot is positioned directly below their centre of mass. Cadavers on two legs fall over, as this requires muscular effort – by living birds, that is.
The researchers identified a mechanism comparable to the stay apparatus in a horse’s foreleg – a system of ligaments and tendons that lets horses stand with minimal muscular effort and even sleep while standing.
Andrew Taubman
Sydney, Australia
Birds pull one leg up because if they pulled both up, they’d fall down.
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