Polly loves a perch: How do birds stand for so long without getting tired?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-11-15 11:01

International

Photo by Joydeep Sensarma on Unsplash

Birds can rest and even sleep standing up, and now French scientists think they know how our feathered friends stand for so long without getting tired. The researchers created a mathematical model based on the anatomy of the zebra finch and found that they can stand without effort thanks to a structural principle called tensegrity. Tensegrity - short for "tensional integrity" - is the same mechanical system that helps keep Brisbane's Kurilpa Bridge strong and it is a balance of rigid rods, or in this case bones, under compression and flexible cables, or tendons and muscles, under tension. In birds, these tendons and muscles are like four cables stretched between the toes and the pelvis which get pulled by the weight of the body and that helps maintain a stable balance when the birds are standing.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

An upright life, the postural stability of birds : a tensegrity system

Journal of the Royal Society Interface

When we see birds resting on their perches, it's so natural that we don't wonder how they can spend their lives standing on two legs without tiring. A mathematical model based on the anatomy of birds reveals how they are able to remain stable without effort thanks to a mechanical tensegrity system. Four cables stretched between the toes and the pelvis are pulled by the weight of the body to maintain a stable balance when the birds are standing. That's the secret of their upright

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conference: Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, France

Funder: This project has received financial support from the CNRS through the MITI interdisciplinary programs.

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