A heron is a bird that lives on slowly flowing rivers. It can often be seen in shallow water. The heron is able to stand motionless in water for a long time and look out for its prey. As a rule, all kinds of living creatures living in water bodies serve as food for this bird. If you watch a heron, you can see that it stands in the water on only one leg. The second is usually bent and pressed to the body. Many do not even know why the heron is standing on one leg. Perhaps this is one way of hunting? Or maybe it’s so warm?
Why does a heron stand on one leg?
This question is of interest not only to young children. Many adults do not understand why a heron stands on one leg. The riddle is not easy. At the moment, there are several answers to this question. First of all, it is necessary to mention that the water in any reservoir is cold, and the heron stands idle in one place for several hours. Naturally, the bird is not quite comfortable. It is for this reason that she bends one leg and hides it under the abdomen in feathers. After a certain period of time, the heron changes its foot. Thus, while one leg is warming, the second freezes.
Food extraction
So, why does a heron stand on one foot in a swamp and on a river? There is another explanation for this phenomenon. The heron eats tadpoles, small frogs, fish and all kinds of fry. Sailing past the legs of a bird, prey is not able to distinguish it from the trunks of some plants, for example, from reeds. The victim does not suspect anything and calmly moves in the water and does not even notice how in an instant he becomes someone else's food. This kind of disguise allows the bird to get its own food without any problems. That is why a heron stands on one leg in the water.
Of course, it is not always possible for a bird to get its own food, standing in one place. Sometimes a heron has to move in water. And this is more convenient to do when one foot is already in the air. As a result, the movements are fast and accurate.
Small study
For many years, the mystery of why a heron stands on one leg when hunting is a concern for many researchers. So far, no one has given an exact answer to the question posed. Many sought to uncover this mystery, and several studies were conducted. First of all, it was noticed that the heron changes legs in a certain order: right to left and left to right. And she does only in this order. Why so?
Scientists tried to confuse the bird by attaching several additional paws to it. A similar experiment did not give significant results. The heron changed its legs all in the same sequence, while ignoring an additional pair of alien bodies.
As a result of such studies, ornithologists from Britain made a final conclusion and answered why the heron is standing on one leg. While one foot is in the water, the second - dries and warms up. And if desired, the bird can hunt in any position. Even standing on two legs.