Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet
Even if they stand in snow or ice-cold water
Bunny slippers in hand, I approach the little bird. “You must be cold,” I say, “Here. Put these on. They’ll keep your feet warm.”
No answer.
“What is it? Don’t you want them?”
No answer.
“Well, okay. I’ll leave them here anyway. Maybe you’ll want them later…”
Somewhat disappointed, I toddle back indoors.
Why birds need no fluffy bunny slippers
If you’ve ever chewed on a chicken foot, you’ll have noticed that it doesn’t have much meat. It’s pretty much all tendons and bones. So, unlike your human foot, which contains plenty of moist muscle tissue, a bird’s foot contains only very little fluid in its cells. This means that in a bird’s foot there simply isn’t much that could freeze. Sure, blood circulates through Tweetie's foot, but it’s unlikely to turn into ice. Given a bird’s frantic little heart, blood simply rushes by way too fast to freeze.
But without freezing, piercing ice crystals can’t form, which in turn means that no…
