Anna Coles wrote:

I was wondering how long he/she would last in the
big bad world, when he/she apparently tired of hopping on one foot and put
down his/her other one. After that, I enjoyed watching many shore birds
hopping on one foot, apparently conserving heat.

Shorebird legs are amazing - red knot are able to regulate the blood flow in their legs to reduce the heat loss, quite effectively and increase the flow to
radiate heat. A very important mechanism considering their migration routes in the Americas take them from Patagonia to a tropical stopover point in Brazil.
They also winter in north Australia where the temp regularly reached 40oC - pretty amazing for a bird which is so well adapted to cold weather.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Ravenna Ave NE, Seattle.