Flamingo's Iconic stance

Flamingos are astonishing and beautiful birds that happen to be very unique. They have he most unusual stance that you may not find in other exotic birds. They have a one-legged stance that has had many people baffled including Matthew Anderson of university of Philadelphia who has conjured two very intelligent theories that may explain this peculiar behavior of these magnificent birds. His first theory was that the stance of the flamingo is dictated by the fatigue felt. Therefore the one legged stance reduces muscle fatigue. In addition, standing on one leg prevents both legs from stiffening and or causing exhaustion, therefore, if a predator were to come the flamingo would be able to escape swiftly and quickly without much hesitation. This theory was evaluated by timing how long it took the flamingo to to begin moving in a unipedal or bipedal resting position. If the flamingo took their first couple steps in the unipedal position the theory would be considered correct. However the flamingo did not do so, therefore the theory was ruled out. The second theory was based upon thermoregualtion, the maintenance of body temperature. Both the legs can cause significant heat loss in birds, with one leg close to the body the bird would conserve their heat. To test this theory, the examination of the weather conditions played a significant part. If the weather conditions in which the flamingo was resting was warm they would stand on two feet. If the climate was colder they would stand on one leg. It was seen that the majority of the birds stood on one foot during the cold climate. So according to Matthew Anderson, the theory of thermoregulation plays a huge part in the one-legged stance of flamingos. In addition "it doesn't rule out other benefits of the posture, such as minimizing contact with parasites and fungi that might be present in the water they are wading in" as stated in the article where all this information was found. My opinion on this matter is simply that flamingos are fascinating creatures, and their iconic stance has had many befuddled. I believe that thermoregulation plays a crucial part in the reason why they stand in such a way, in addition to posture and exhaustion. I mean with legs like that wouldn't you wanna relax one of them by standing on one leg? I sure would. This article was found here.