Trivia |
Why don't birds fall off of the branches they're sleeping
on? |
People can't even fall asleep on the subway without
slumping over onto the person next to them, but birds stay
steady even in high winds. The secret of the birds'
tightrope talent is in the toe tendons.
As a bird sits on a perch, its own body weight stretches
the tendons in front of the knee and behind the ankle
joint. This causes the toes to move forward and clasp
around the perch. Other tendons under the toe bones have
interlocking layers that stay secured to one another as
long as the birds' weight is pressing against them, keeping
the bird from tipping over.
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