blunder

One-Legged-Oystercatcher

This is not really a one legged Oystercatcher, it is just standing on one leg.
Standing on one leg is an important strategy that all shorebirds use to con...
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This is not really a one legged Oystercatcher, it is just standing on one leg.
Standing on one leg is an important strategy that all shorebirds use to conserve body heat and survive on cold days. Their legs are adapted to conserve body heat so they don’t have to burn as many calories to keep their legs warm. At low temperatures the blood returning to the birds’ lungs and heart from its’ legs could cause a chill. To counteract this problem, birds limit blood flow to their legs, so less blood is chilled in the first place. Second, they use something called counter current exchange to warm blood returning from their legs. Heat from the warm blood coming to the legs from the heart is used to warm up the cold blood returning to the bird’s core. That way, they don’t catch a chill and can still walk, run, and forage on cold days. Tucking one leg into their feathers is another strategy that helps them to conserve heat.

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