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Why birds do not fall while sleeping

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Re: Why birds do not fall while sleeping

#4
post #3

> The only permanent bipeds of the animal kingdom alongside humans Kangaroos?

Kangaroos engage in quadrupedal (actually pentapedal—using their tail as well) locomotion at slow speeds.

Humans also engage in quadrupedal locomotion, often at any speed and sometimes up stairs too.

Also, I see both of my dogs standing on 2 legs every day, often walking short distances like that. According to wikipedia this only happens when they are trained to do it (?!) but we never trained them and they've been doing it since a few months old. Maybe I should update https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipedalism to indicate training may not be required for temporary bipedal behavior in some dogs.

Re: Why birds do not fall while sleeping

#5
post #3

> The only permanent bipeds of the animal kingdom alongside humans Kangaroos?

Kangaroos engage in quadrupedal (actually pentapedal—using their tail as well) locomotion at slow speeds.

So do humans, babies and the elderly especially.

What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 in the evening?

The key here is how relaxed is the interpretation of "permanent".

Re: Why birds do not fall while sleeping

#6
post #5
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kangaroos engage in quadrupedal (actually pentapedal—using their tail as well) locomotion at slow speeds.

So do humans, babies and the elderly especially. What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 in the evening? The key here is how relaxed is the interpretation of "permanent".

Birds migrating are mostly zero legging it!

To answer the question: a yacht race?

Re: Why birds do not fall while sleeping

#8
You know how when your hand is relaxed, your fingers are curled?

When birds relax, their feet curl in a similar way, and this provides enough grip that if they're on a perch, they will automatically hold on as easily as if they're awake.

There's a bit more to it, as the way the tendons in their feet and legs are attached, the foot will automatically grasp when the ankle is bent, so it's a much stronger grip than our floppy relaxed fingers would provide. Here's a quick rundown with a good gif illustrating how it works. https://windycityparrot.com/birds-sleep-standing-one-leg/ They also have an extra balance organ between their hips that help them sray upright, so the whole anatomy lends itself to sleeping like this.

Additionally, when we're awake and moving, we're constantly on our feet, so our feet and legs will get tired and need a rest. However, our arms don't generally get tired just from walking around, right?

Birds are the opposite. They spend a lot of time flying, and their feet are mostly relaxed and resting while they're in the air. It's the wings and chest muscles that get tired.

So sleeping on their feet has a whole other connotation to them.

Re: Why birds do not fall while sleeping

#9
post #3

> The only permanent bipeds of the animal kingdom alongside humans Kangaroos?

Kangaroos engage in quadrupedal (actually pentapedal—using their tail as well) locomotion at slow speeds.

I mean fuck, if that counts then I’m quadrupedal every time I go up the stairs quickly in my house
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