Aquatic Birds

Naptime

Bird must have been really tired, never noticed I was there. I looked up why birds sleep on one leg & found the following:
"Birds' legs have an adaptation called "rete mirabile" that minimizes heat loss. The arteries that transport warm blood into the legs lie in contact with the veins that return colder blood to the bird's heart. ... And by standing on one leg, a bird reduces by half the amount of heat lost through unfeathered limbs."
Great Egret (Ardea alba)

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