1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Lauren vogal Bomb. Here in a large, shallow body of water, 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: hundreds of flamingos might congregate like an avian water ballet team, 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: all preening their pink feathers, resting in the sun, and 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: standing on one leg for hours at a time. Flamingos 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: even sleep that way. It's a puzzle to science why 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: exactly flamingos stand on one leg so regularly, but there 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: are lots of theories on the subject. It's an impressive 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: ability considering that flamingo's legs are longer than their bodies 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,639 Speaker 1: and most of their weight is oriented horizontally. Humans are 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: oriented vertically, with almost all of our weight in line 12 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: with our center of gravity. It really should be easier 13 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: for humans to stand on one leg than four flamingos, 14 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: but most of us have trouble standing on one leg 15 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: for ten seconds blood alone four hours, like flamingos too. 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: Most large waiting birds have the ability to stand on 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: one leg, and flamingos are one of the biggest waiting 18 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: birds out there. They range from about fifty inches tall 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: that's about but they don't weigh much, just about five 20 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: to eight pounds that's two to three and a half kilos. 21 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: Combine their height with their coloring, and flamingos are one 22 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: of the most recognizable birds in the world. It's startling 23 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: to see a large group of pink, red or vermillion 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,639 Speaker 1: birds standing one legged or otherwise in a shallow pond. 25 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: The color, of course, comes from the food that they eat, 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: including shrimp, which is full of carotenoid pigments, the same 27 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: thing that makes carrots orange. Flamingos are almost always in groups, 28 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: anywhere from a few birds to a few hundred or 29 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: even a few thousand, and they live on every continent 30 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: except Australia and at Arctica. They're very social, a sleeping 31 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: preening their feathers and eating together. To eat, flamingos fish 32 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: sort of. They stick their heads in the water upside 33 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: down and suck mud and water in through the front 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: of their beak. The up in the bottom of the 35 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: beak have bristles that intertwine when they meet, forming a 36 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: comb like filtering mechanism. The water and mud flow through, 37 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: getting pumped out of the sides of the beak. What's 38 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: left is the flamingos food, usually algae and small crustaceans. 39 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,679 Speaker 1: They stand on both legs to eat, but on one 40 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: leg to sleep. It seems like sleeping would require both 41 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,119 Speaker 1: legs on the ground for balance since the animal is unconscious. 42 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: So why do flamingos do it? Here are a few theories. Okay, 43 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: if you stood in the water all day, your skin 44 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: would prune up. Well, waiting birds have the same problem, 45 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: and this is where one of the theories comes from. 46 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: Maybe flamingos stand on one leg to dry their other off. 47 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: Since flamingoes alternate which foot they've got in the water, 48 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: this theory does seem possible, but it's not super popular. 49 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: Some experts think that the one leg balancing act might 50 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: have to do with the flamingos brain. Many animals, including 51 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: dolphins and ducks, only turn off one side of their 52 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: brain at a time when they sleep, and ducks, along 53 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: with herons, storks, and geese, have also been known to 54 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: stand on one leg for long periods of time. If 55 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: flamingoes keep half their brain awake while they sleep, that 56 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: could explain why they sleep on one leg. The leg 57 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: controlled by the side of the brain that's awake, stays 58 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: on the ground to maintain balance while the other leg 59 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: and foot get to rest up for a while. The 60 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: most common theories, though, relate to hunting and energy conservation. 61 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: The sense of flamingos legs are so long and make 62 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: up the majority of the bird's height, it takes a 63 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: lot of energy to pump blood through both legs. That's 64 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: a big strain on the heart. It's possible that pulling 65 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: up one leg to rest and tucking it up into 66 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: the body allows the heart to more easily pump blood 67 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: through the body, since only one leg is fully extended. 68 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: At the same time, this could conserve body heat. It's 69 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: like wrapping your arms around your torso to stay warm. 70 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: The more compact you make your body, the easier it 71 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: is to warm up. This is an imperfect theory, though, 72 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: since flamingoes will stand on leg in both cold and 73 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: hot weather. There are many scientists who think flamingos keep 74 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: just one leg in the water in order to better 75 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: camouflage themselves. A lagoon has lots of long, thin objects 76 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: in it, including reeds and small trees. A flamingo on 77 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: one leg could resemble a tree with a thin trunk, 78 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: especially when seen from inside the water, so a flamingoes 79 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: underwater prey might think that it's a safe place to swim. 80 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: This theory would make more sense, though, if the flamingos 81 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: prey were a bit more site driven. So nobody is 82 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: sure exactly why flamingoes do this, but there is an 83 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:42,359 Speaker 1: interesting anatomical mechanism that may help explain how a flamingoes 84 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: ankle is where you would expect the knee to be 85 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: near the middle of the leg, the knee is so 86 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,799 Speaker 1: far up in the leg that's usually hidden by the body, 87 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: and that ankle has something that a human ankle doesn't. 88 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: The joint actually snaps shut to literally lock it in place, 89 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: and some scientists think that this locking chanism may be 90 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: the key to a flamingo's incredible balancing act. Today's episode 91 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: is based on the article why does Flamingo stand on 92 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: one leg? On how stuff Works dot com written by 93 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: Julia Layton. Green Stuff is production of I Heart Radio 94 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it it 95 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Clain. Four more podcasts. My Heart 96 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: Radio is at the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 97 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.