Do You Ever Wonder If Birds Get Cold Feet?

I was sitting at my dining room window watching the birds at my feeders the other day when I thought – “how come bird’s feet don’t freeze in cold winter weather?” So I looked it up!

Apparently birds do have cold feet in winter, but a quick moving circulatory system keeps them from freezing. Blood flowing from a bird’s heart is very warm because their core body temperature is above 100°F. As the warm blood circulates from the heart to the feet it rapidly replaces the cold blood, which then circulates back to the warm body. The blood simply doesn’t remain in the feet long enough to freeze.

There are other ways birds warm their feet and legs. Have you ever seen birds lying on your lawn with their feet and legs tucked up under their bodies? I see Mourning Doves do this a lot. Their warm body temperature is keeping their extremities all warm and toasty. They also do this while standing by picking up one foot at a time and tucking it under their feathers.

Now that I know how birds keep their tootsies from freezing in cold weather, I am no longer thinking – “gee I wish I could knit them little woolen booties!”