For many birds, standing on one leg is entirely comfortable, even for extended periods.
When did you ever see any such bird lose its balance?
For Homo sapiens, it is another matter entirely.
However, our ability to stand on just one of our own two feet is very much more telling/predictive than most of us realise.
(photo is copyright Doug Spencer. It shows a Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia, beside India’s Chambal River, on 03 February 2020)
A startling headline from a tabloid newspaper, published in 2019:
DR MICHAEL MOSLEY: Want to know how long you’ll live? Just stand on one leg with your eyes shut!
You may be surprised to know that the relevant article was actually written by Dr Michael Mosley, and that it very nearly justified The Daily Mail’s headline.
Click this for the full article.
Click here for a more “scholarly” article; it lacks the tabloid tone, but supports Mosley’s thrust.
And if you do not already know why birds choose to stand on one leg, click this
….but then remember that birds also do this on some very hot days, when ground temperature is very much higher than a living bird’s body temperature.
My hunch is the fundamental reason is the same in both cases – to regulate body temperature, as efficiently as possible. Think about it; on both cold and very hot days, it probably makes very good sense for a large-footed water bird to put just one foot down.
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Today’s music features five of my favourite improvising Australians, all of whom are identified at video’s end.
All are decidedly multifaceted, and leaders in their own right. Each will reward your further attention. (For example, this piece’s pianist is perhaps Australian jazz’s most gifted composer, whilst its ”tough” tenor saxophonist also happens to be a sublimely tender balladeer)