Tiddly toes
Isn’t this Arctic Tern a stunning bird?
One distinctive feature of Arctic Terns is that they have incredibly short legs. It probably helps them to keep warm by leaving less of their body exposed. Over evolutionary time, the Arctic Terns with longer legs clearly raised fewer chicks than those with short legs.
Birds have a counter-current heat exchange mechanism in their legs where the heat from blood going to the toes warms the cold blood coming back from them. That means they lose less heat. Other species of bird stand on one leg to conserve heat. Arctic Terns have legs half the length, instead, to keep their bodies warm.
When flying, the feet are neatly tucked away into the most incredible aerodynamic shape. They have to fly the equivalent of three trips to the moon and back in a lifetime of migration. Any flapping feet trailing behind would soon reduce their breeding success and be eliminated from their gene pool.
Selection has produced beautiful birds which are fitted to their environment, beautifully, tiddly toes and all.
More Arctic Terns
Arctic Tern feeding A memory of last summer with the Arctic Terns of Westray. There were so few chicks in this colony that… read more
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Time, slowed Arctic Terns live their lives in a rush. They've got to get their family ready for a journey from pole… read more
First flight I watched an Arctic Tern colony struggle to raise chicks over the last summer. There was plenty of food, although… read more
Fish from a stranger What happens when your colony collapses, your numbers are too low and you can't protect your chicks from predators? What… read more
Feeding time One of the most interesting aspects of bird behaviour is watching parents feeding their young. In this case, I can't… read more