Back to basics .....

[Tinkerbell]

Why don't birds freeze

I've just been into the garden, which is inundated with birds today, and it is freezing cold out there. How do our native birds manage to withstand the cold, particularly bearing in mind that it will probably become even colder overnight?

[StuartDH]

I know what you mean, you'd think they'd at least need long socks to keep their legs from freezing rock solid.

Basically they use their fluffy feathers, shelter in nests, huddling up with over birds, sleeping near sources of warmth, eating high-fat foods that boost their metabolism and shivering to generate heat, all help to keep up their core temperature. There's obviously a lot more to it than that, so if anyone fancies researching and writing a guide to bird survival for the reference section then feel free to pick up the ball and run with it.

[nightshade]

I know that birds occasionaly lose legs to the cold, but the top half has a duvet jacket!
There was a programme on about migration which showed geese crossing the
alps or somewhere similar(an excellent bit of filming incidently)having to land to ride out a snow storm on the top of a mountain, they just put their beaks to the wind and snuggled down

[Lou-D]

The ground dwelling Ptarmigan is well adapted to living in the snowy, mountainous regions of Scotland with its feathered legs and feet.

Brrr, it certainly is going to be a cold one tonight. I could feel it getting cooler from lunch time.