Can someone clarify how birds find it energy efficient to stand on one leg?
I can’t get my head around the idea of shifting the body weight onto one leg is easier for energy/heat conservation if the leg in use will be working more, taking more load.
In: 8
Because if they don’t tuck one of the legs up they start losing heat thru both legs pretty rapidly. Which is a waste of energy because heat loss is directly related to surface area, and when they tuck up one leg that reduces the surface area they lose heat from. Basically the same thing as a person that’s cold keeping their arms tucked close to their chest.
Using a single leg doesn’t use much, if any, more energy since they (as in their entire body) are still supporting the exact same load regardless.
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