2006-08-18 05:56:53 · 14 answers · asked by chocaholic 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Bird legs have what is known as Counter-Current heat exchange. This is where warm aterial blood warms up cool veinus blood returning to the heart. If the birds were to leave both legs int he water lets say for the period of an entire night, they would be losing far too much heat to the environment, and their metabolic demand to maintain homeostasis would be very high indeed. This would mean that when they were awake, they would have to eat twice as much food.....very costly energetically speaking.
It is basically an adaptation for an endotherm (homeotherm) to conserve energy and reduce heat loss.
2006-08-18 06:35:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about sleeping, but I saw a thing on Nick Jr which said that Flamingos are pink because the eat a lot of shrimp and they stand on one leg to lure the shrimps into thinking they are trees in the Water.
2006-08-18 10:28:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
"Flamingos roost upon one of their legs while the other half of their body is in the sleep stage. When the other half of their brain and body earns a rest, they change legs. A leg that is in the sleep stage would not support the bird as a whole
2006-08-18 06:11:35 · answer #3 · answered by wendy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flamingos frequently stand on one leg, both when feeding and at rest. The reason for this behavior is not fully known. One common theory is that tucking one leg beneath the body may conserve body heat, but this has not been proven.
2006-08-18 06:03:07 · answer #4 · answered by *·.·´¯`·.·* jay *·.·´¯`·.·* 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They Are Ancesters Of The Shoalin Monks
2006-08-18 06:38:28 · answer #5 · answered by Alien Boy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So they can rest the other leg. Horses can sleep or doze standing up and do the same, so that they can shift legs in their sleep.
2006-08-18 06:02:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They stand on one leg because they look like a tree to the shrimp swimming around their legs, or rather, leg.
2006-08-18 06:09:28 · answer #7 · answered by ty_rosewood 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It reduces heat loss into the water, there being only one leg there at a time.
2006-08-18 06:13:59 · answer #8 · answered by ALAN Q 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They sleep while they stand on one leg.
2006-08-18 06:02:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i love flamingos, but i dont know that answer to that:( sorry.
2006-08-18 06:01:37 · answer #10 · answered by liss843 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋