The physics of a crane asleep on one leg
Balance, not beauty, is the gray-crowned crane’s real night trick. In open wetlands, a single leg becomes a living tripod, because its interlocking tendons and ligaments form a passive stay apparatus that keeps joints fixed with almost no muscle activity while the lifted leg cuts heat loss over cold water.Predators get less credit than they should for this posture. By sleeping high on one leg, the...More
loading...