Habitat and lifestyle features of birds. Why does a heron stand on one leg?

The heron is a bird that lives on slow-flowing rivers. It can often be seen in shallow water. The heron is able to stand motionless in the water for a long time and look out for its prey. As a rule, food for this bird is all kinds of living creatures that live in reservoirs. If you watch a heron, you will notice that it stands in the water on only one leg. The second one is usually tucked in and pressed against the body. Many people have no idea why the heron stands on one leg. Perhaps this is one of the ways of hunting? Or maybe that's how it heats up?

Why does a heron stand on one leg?

This question is of interest not only to young children. Many adults do not understand why the heron stands on one leg. The riddle is not an easy one. At the moment, there are several answers to this question. First of all, it is necessary to mention that the water in any body of water is cold, and the heron stands in one place for several hours. Naturally, the bird is not entirely comfortable. It is for this reason that she bends one leg and hides it under her belly in feathers. After a certain period of time, the heron changes its paw. Thus, while one leg is warming up, the other is freezing.

Foraging for food

So, why does the heron stand on one leg in the swamp and on the river? There is another explanation for this phenomenon. The heron feeds on tadpoles, small ones and all kinds of fry. Swimming past the bird's leg, the prey is unable to distinguish it from the trunks of some plants, for example, from reeds. The victim suspects nothing and moves calmly in the water and doesn’t even notice how in an instant he becomes someone’s food. This kind of camouflage allows the bird to get food for itself without any problems. This is why the heron stands on one leg in the water.

Of course, a bird does not always manage to get food for itself while standing in one place. Sometimes the heron has to move in the water. And it’s more convenient to do this when one paw is already in the air. As a result, the movements are fast and accurate.

A little research

For many years, the mystery of why a heron stands on one leg when hunting has concerned many researchers. Until now, no one has given an exact answer to the question posed. Many have sought to uncover this mystery and several studies have been conducted. First of all, it was noticed that the heron changes its legs in a certain order: right to left and left to right. And she does it only in this sequence. Why is this so?

Scientists tried to confuse the bird by attaching several extra legs to it. Such an experiment did not produce significant results. The heron changed its legs in the same sequence, while ignoring the additional pair of alien bodies.

As a result of similar studies, ornithologists from Britain made a final conclusion and answered why the heron stands on one leg. While one paw is in the water, the second dries and warms up. And the bird can hunt in any position if desired. Even standing on two legs.

The heron stands on one leg, not as easy as it seems. One can say even more: there is no definite answer to it! Although the question is of interest not only to children: ornithologists, biologists, and even biophysicists have studied it. Today there are at least three versions, and each is quite convincing.

1. Herons alternately warm their legs in this way.
2. It’s easier for birds to hunt this way.
3. This is a kind of camouflage technique.

Let's look at all versions in more detail.

Thermoregulation version

It is known that herons live and hunt near bodies of water. Usually this is a swamp, a water meadow, or a slow river. In these places, the bird is able to freeze motionless for hours, looking out for its prey. This is almost always a one-leg stand. The second is tucked under the belly, hiding in thick plumage.

Scientists have put forward the theory that herons alternately warm their feet in this way. After all, they have to stand in cold water, and if they leaned on both legs, the body would constantly lose much more heat. Supporting one leg allows you to reduce the cost of heating the body.

Anyone who has seen a heron hunt has probably noticed: the bird’s prey rarely swims very close to its leg. As a rule, the heron has to take a sharp step forward at the moment of throwing. Now imagine that both legs are under water at this time.

In this case, you need to very quickly pull one leg out of the water, overcoming the resistance of the liquid, carry it over the water and dip it back again. These operations would take precious fractions of a second, and they are often the key to a successful hunt.

If the bird initially stands on one leg, to throw, it only needs to sharply straighten its free leg and “throw” it forward, approaching the intended victim. This wide step can be taken much faster than if the foot were initially underwater. Thus, we come to the second logical conclusion: standing on one leg provides the heron with a more rapid attack on the prey.

The “camouflage” version claims that standing on one leg is much more invisible to fish and frogs than two legs standing side by side. One leg, frozen in the water, closely resembles an ordinary twig or even a reed, while two legs would immediately look a little suspicious. After all, there is little symmetry in nature!

Leaning on just one leg, the heron deceives its victims, allowing them to swim very close to make the final throw. The heron has been taught this method of camouflage over many millennia of evolution.

Which of the given options is true? Nobody knows the exact answer, and it is unlikely that it exists. It is possible that all options are true to a certain extent. One can logically reason that the “one-legged stance” has both a thermoregulatory and camouflage meaning, and a purely physical one, helping to speed up the lightning speed of the attack.

Moreover, there is even a fourth version, which insists that by changing its legs one by one, the bird simply gives them the opportunity to rest. Why not? By the way, it is known that many birds rest this way: storks, cranes, even ordinary budgies that live in our apartments.

And now that we have learned why these birds stand on one leg for a long time, let’s remember some more interesting facts about this bird.

• Herons live in almost all parts of the world, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctica.
• There are two species in Russia: gray and red herons.
• These birds live up to 25 years.
• Herons, spending their entire lives in swamps and in water, do not like to swim; their feathers quickly get wet because they do not have special lubrication, like other waterfowl.
• In flight, the heron retracts its neck, pressing its head to its body. This strikingly distinguishes herons from storks, geese or ducks.
• Herons are able to hunt day and night, which is unusual for other waterfowl.

Thus, we were never able to definitively answer why the heron stands on one leg. But we learned a lot of interesting things about this wonderful one, which previously could be seen in almost every swamp. Now, unfortunately, there are significantly fewer herons. Why this happened is the subject of a special discussion, and, alas, there are even more versions of the answers here.

The heron is a large aquatic bird that, despite its massive body, walks on two long thin legs. In addition, the bird has the amazing ability to stand on one leg. A simple but interesting mystery of nature: why does a heron stand on one leg?

This common question asked by zoo visitors and biologists has several possible answers due to different theories.

Rest on one leg

The reason why the heron stands on one leg, researchers initially called the bird's rest. Zoologists have concluded that this position of the legs helps reduce stress on the legs and reduce fatigue, and also allows you to quickly escape from predators. This theory is confirmed in practice, since herons have a habit of sleeping, leaning on only one leg.

Heron sleeps on one leg

Scientists later ruled out this possibility because studies showed that a heron required more effort to move forward after standing on one leg than after resting on two. Scientists have also found that herons have no preference regarding which leg to stand on: left or right.

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Other assumptions

Another proposed theory, that standing on one leg helps herons maintain balance in windy conditions, has since been rejected. The researchers abandoned some other original speculations, such as the idea that standing on one leg helps the heron circulate blood better by limiting the effect of gravity on the circulatory system.

Body Thermoregulation Hypothesis

Researchers have found that the heron prefers to stand on one leg much more often when in the water than on land. Because water absorbs body heat, this behavior in birds supports the thermoregulation hypothesis.

The thermoregulation hypothesis is that the heron stands on one leg in order to maintain body temperature. While in the water, the heron alternates legs so that the supporting limb does not get too cold, since the water temperature is lower than the air temperature. If the bird were to constantly stand on one leg or put both legs down, it would risk greater heat loss and resulting tissue damage from colds as it spends a lot of time in the wetland. This is evidence that thermoregulatory function is the main reason why the heron uses only one lower limb when standing.

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Rete mirabile complex

Rete mirabile complex

Thermoregulation in the heron's body occurs through a form of vascular branching called rete mirabile (Latin for "miraculous network"), which minimizes the bird's heat loss. This complex of arteries and veins acts as a heat exchanger in that the internal temperature of the bird's legs becomes much closer to the ambient temperature, and therefore the legs do not lose as much heat as they would at body temperature.

Heron stance as a hunting method

Another popular theory suggests that the heron stands on one leg to appear less suspicious to aquatic prey. Animals, seeing one leg of a bird, mistake it for a plant stem and thus do not see the danger. The bird hunts not only while motionless in the water, but also by approaching its prey in shallow water.

When I asked my six-year-old son: “Have you seen how a heron hunts?”, he answered me: “She gets tired of standing on two legs.” When visiting bodies of water, in wild places, you can observe a heron, which can remain motionless in the water for a long time. At the same time, she alternately presses her legs, as if trying to maintain balance.

Why does the heron draw in its legs?

Scientists substantiate several main reasons for this bird behavior:

• to warm feet chilled in cold water;
• to disguise themselves as grass stems while hunting;
• to quickly escape in case of danger.

The heron lives and hunts all day in shallow water. The water in any body of water is cool, so the bird alternately tucks its legs under its belly. The limb warms up in the warm feathers, and the heron continues to look out for prey, prudently tucking its other leg.

This bird is a born hunter by nature. Chicks learn the art of catching fish, snakes, frogs and various insects from their parents. At an early age, babies watch their older relatives and instinctively tuck their legs when in the water. The reason for this is the art of camouflage. Animals or fish swimming underwater think that the heron's leg is a plant stem. As soon as the prey enters the bird's field of vision and swims close enough, one lightning-fast throw is enough. The heron grabs its food and enjoys its meal.

Amazing facts about the life of a heron

Herons are unique birds that inhabit all continents of the globe, with the exception of Antarctica. It is known that during their annual migrations they rise to a height of over 2000 meters (this is the flight altitude of helicopters).

Among the herons there are also giants (some individuals grow up to 1.5 meters). Birds live in families; for some pairs, family life can last 2 years. Females lay eggs that are oblong in shape and greenish in color.

Despite the fact that the heron feeds on fish and other inhabitants of water bodies, it never swims or dives. This bird feeds exclusively on food of animal origin and is an absolute predator.

A little research

For many years, the mystery of why a heron stands on one leg when hunting has concerned many researchers. Until now, no one has given an exact answer to the question posed. Many have sought to uncover this mystery and several studies have been conducted. First of all, it was noticed that the heron changes its legs in a certain order: right to left and left to right. And she does it only in this sequence. Why is this so? Scientists tried to confuse the bird by attaching several extra legs to it. Such an experiment did not produce significant results. The heron changed its legs in the same sequence, while ignoring the additional pair of alien bodies. As a result of similar studies, ornithologists from Britain made a final conclusion and answered why the heron stands on one leg. While one paw is in the water, the second dries and warms up. And the bird can hunt in any position if desired. Even standing on two legs.

The heron has an interesting structure of the knee joint: when the leg is extended, a kind of lock is activated, and the bird can stand for a very long time, while allowing the second leg to rest.

conclusions

Herons live in central Russia, where the water temperature in reservoirs can be cold even in summer. By pressing its paw to its warm belly, the heron quickly warms up. From time to time the bird changes its legs, alternately standing on the right and then on the left.

Everyone knows that the heron feeds on small fish, frogs or beetles, which can be found in shallow water or near rivers. Since each of them moves in a fraction of a second, the bird must react with lightning speed to the appearance of prey. She has little time to throw, so she extends one leg early to make an attacking strike.

Perhaps these are not all the reasons why the heron stands on one leg, and there are other options, because the animal world has not yet been fully studied by us and perhaps very soon scientists will identify other reasons for this behavior that will not be related to the habitat, and with other factors.