Page 14 - BBC Wildlife - August 2017 UK
P. 14
WILD NEWS
DISCOVERIES
Written by
STUART
he animal kingdom.
The latest in scientific research from all over th BLACKMAN
Flamingos are able
to stand and sleep
on one leg for long
Q BIRDS periods of time.
ONEENERGYSAVINGSOLUTION
FOR FLAMINGOS, WHEN IT COMES TO HOW MANY LEGS YOU STAND ON, LESS IS MORE.
hy do flamingos sense,” Young-Hui DID YOU KNOW? though, they have the classic flamingo posture,
stand on one leg? Chang of the Georgia to work harder to as Chang discovered when he
Q Despite their
WAs the joke goes, Institute of Technology, superficial keep their balance. tried it on a whim. “Here we
it’s because, if they stood on USA, told BBC Wildlife. resemblance to “The biomechanics have a non-living animal able to
no legs they’d fall over. But “Still, many bird herons, storks and are such that when stand on one leg. Obviously, if
biologists are more interested species are known to cranes, flamingos they stand on one it’s not alive, then the muscles
are most closely
in why they don’t stand on stand on one leg, even leg, they become very are not activated,” he says.
related to grebes, a
two legs and, according to those in very warm group so specialised stable and are able to Now the challenge is to
new research, the answer climates that do not for life in water that maintain that posture identify the precise features of
is similar – that, too, would stand in water.” they struggle on land without activating the flamingo’s skeleton that
using all the legs
make standing up harder. Chang and his muscle,” says Ting. “If permit the effortless balancing
available to them.
The standard explanation for colleague Lena Ting they deviate from that act. Ultimately, that might
why flamingos and other birds stood flamingos on posture to two legs, inform the design of artificial
such as ducks and pigeons pressure plates that detect that no longer holds. It’s very limbs and support aids for
Paul Hobson/naturepl.com one leg is that they save heat by adjustments. This revealed posture that can support their says Chang.
routinely rest and even sleep on
people with balance disorders,
posture-specific, a one-legged
sway and other postural
tucking the other one snugly up
body weight.”
that they can maintain a one-
So effective is it that even
legged stance with little, if any,
among the feathers.
SOURCE Biology Letters
BBC Wildlife
14 “Logically, that would make muscular effort. On two legs, dead birds could be posed in LINK http://bit.ly/2t8abZb August 2017