Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
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Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
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Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#2This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze.
Does anyone know?
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#3This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze. Does anyone know?
I don’t know, but I’m always amazed at how animals don’t just all freeze to death and die. I know that many do but still.
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#4I was sleeping on a balcony in Hawaii on a trip, when I woke up there was a one legged pigeon that was hanging out right next to me. Ever since then I noticed quite a few birds with a missing foot. Makes me wonder how much sensitivity birds have in their feet.
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#5This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze. Does anyone know?
Exactly. I want to know what cellular metabolic tricks they use to keep their foot cells working at just over freezing temperatures.
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#6I was sleeping on a balcony in Hawaii on a trip, when I woke up there was a one legged pigeon that was hanging out right next to me. Ever since then I noticed quite a few birds with a missing foot. Makes me wonder how much sensitivity birds have in their feet.
Looks can sometimes be deceiving with regards to one-legged birds.
My pet goose (yeah, weird pet, but she was from an egg I saved and incubated) does a trick where when she sleeps she puts her head under under a wing and lifts a leg up -- she sleeps on a single leg with her head tucked like a big ball of balanced feathers with tremendous balance and grace. She tucks her leg up so high into her down fluff that you can't see it at all. She only wobbles a bit when she's deeply asleep -- never falling.
Here is a picture of a different species of goose (I have a Toulouse) doing the same behavior[0]. It's not terribly uncommon among birds.
Of course REAL one-legged birds exist, just wanted to mention that they like to confuse people once in awhile :)
[0]: https://p0.pikist.com/photos/373/410/nature-wildlife-bird-go...
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#7Countercurrent exchange is a remarkable thing that every engineer should know about.
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#8This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze. Does anyone know?
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Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#9I was sleeping on a balcony in Hawaii on a trip, when I woke up there was a one legged pigeon that was hanging out right next to me. Ever since then I noticed quite a few birds with a missing foot. Makes me wonder how much sensitivity birds have in their feet.
Looks can sometimes be deceiving with regards to one-legged birds. My pet goose (yeah, weird pet, but she was from an egg I saved and incubated) does a trick where when she sleeps she puts her head under under a wing and lifts a leg up -- she sleeps on a single leg with her head tucked like a big ball of balanced feathers with tremendous balance and grace. She tucks her leg up so high into her down fluff that you can…
I know the behaviour you are describing, but the pigeon had its foot severed at the ankle. I saw the actual leg, so its not that it was hiding it. Looked more like pirate stub.
Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Looks can sometimes be deceiving with regards to one-legged birds. My pet goose (yeah, weird pet, but she was from an egg I saved and incubated) does a trick where when she sleeps she puts her head under under a wing and lifts a leg up -- she sleeps on a single leg with her head tucked like a big ball of balanced feathers with tremendous balance and grace. She tucks her leg up so high into her down fluff that you can…
I know the behaviour you are describing, but the pigeon had its foot severed at the ankle. I saw the actual leg, so its not that it was hiding it. Looked more like pirate stub.
Ah , that's too bad.
This article mentions a correlation between pollution and loss-of-limbs in urban pigeons. They even mention it may due to human hair entanglement from hair salons as a primary culprit -- that seems far fetched to me, but who knows.[0]
I tend to think that it's mostly just environmental entanglement, pigeons are pretty curious animals.
[0]: https://www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-brain/why-do-so-many-urban-p...