At breakfast this morning, my husband explained that Gracie, while perched on his gauntlet (glove), stood on one leg, but the other leg was suspiciously suspended in midair. It was 5:00 in the morning, he was sleepy, and for the briefest of moments, he thought, “Is this a good sign or a bad sign?”
In his dreamy state, he reasoned to himself that standing on one leg could mean one of two things:
1. She’s getting ready to do a Karate chop, talon-swipe-ninja move
2. She’s chilled out flamingo-like and tropical isle style
Number 1 = husband may end up with talons for earrings.
Number 2 = happy family.
Luckily, it was just part dream, part reality and he explained to me that when the hawk rests on just one leg, it can be seen as a sign that they are comfortable around you. This makes sense as it seems they would be more vulnerable in this position.
I always wondered why birds stood on one leg. Usually, when I do, it’s because my feet hurt or I’m in a Yoga tree pose.
I found this explanation from Birdnote.org:
“Birds’ legs have an adaptation called “rete mirabile” that minimizes heat loss. The arteries that transport warm blood into the legs lie in contact with the veins that return colder blood to the bird’s heart. The arteries warm the veins. By standing on one leg, a bird reduces by half the amount of heat lost through unfeathered limbs.”
So, the moral of the story is, if you see a bird standing on one leg, it either only has one leg or it literally is chilling out.