Thank you all for your thoughtful insights! Sincerely, Judy
> On Feb 5, 2021, at 3:52 PM, Laura Erickson <chickadee.erick...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Bird FEATHERS don't have nerve endings, but birds almost certainly have a
> nerve where each feather emerges from the body. It probably hurts when a
> predator grabs the tail and yanks it out, but at that point the bird is
> fleeing powered on adrenaline and probably doesn't notice much. Once the
> feather is out, though, it doesn't seem to hurt, but new feathers growing
> in do seem to itch.
>
> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 3:39 PM Jason Frank <jmfran...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> This is very interesting; just this morning I was having a
>> conversation with someone who's had a tail-featherless Blue Jay
>> regularly visiting his feeders this winter. He was surprised that it
>> could still fly relatively well, but it piqued his interest and he
>> started doing some research and told me that birds also lack
>> nerve-endings in their rear ends. Does anyone know if this is true for
>> all birds, or just certain genera? I've seen a few de-tailed pheasants
>> over the years, but had always sort of figured that the sensation of
>> losing plumage would be equivalent to the loss of a finger nail.
>>
>> On 2/5/21, Laura Erickson <chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Also, because bird feet are not vulnerable to frostbite (except, in the
>>> case of feeder birds, for doves and pigeons, which pig out, filling up
>>> their crops and then spending the next several hours roosting, hunkered
>>> down with their bellies against their feet), they have virtually no nerve
>>> endings to register pain, so they don't feel hardly any warmth or cold
>> via
>>> their feet.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Laura Erickson
>>> Duluth, MN
>>>
>>> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:59 AM Michael Koutnik <m.a.kout...@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> How timely. Thanks for sharing!
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:48 AM Jeff Ranta <rant...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I remember a student asking the same question in a High School Gen Bio
>>>>> class I taught for years at Stillwater Area High School. I dug out
>> one
>>>> of
>>>>> my old ornithology text from college and found a fascinating answer.
>>>>>
>>>>> I found a similar answer on The Cornell Lab All About Birds website
>>>>> copied below:
>>>>>
>>>>> Birds such as gulls and ducks endure long periods of standing on ice
>>>>> via
>>>>> regional heterothermy, or maintaining a core body temperature while
>>>>> allowing the temperature of extremities to deviate from the core
>>>>> temperature.
>>>>>
>>>>> Keeping an entire foot warm requires a tremendous energy cost.
>>>>> Instead,
>>>>> these birds allow the foot to approach freezing temperatures. Blood is
>>>>> still supplied to the foot, however, so the birds use a countercurrent
>>>> heat
>>>>> exchange system—cool blood coming back from the foot travels through
>>>> veins
>>>>> grouped around arteries that are sending warm blood from the body to
>>>>> the
>>>>> foot. Heat is transferred from the warm arteries to the cool veins.
>>>>>
>>>>> This countercurrent heat exchange system is very efficient at
>>>>> maintaining
>>>>> heat in the core. Periodic increases in blood flow allow a little heat
>>>>> to
>>>>> reach the foot and prevent it from freezing.
>>>>>
>>>>> Bird feet can also withstand low temperatures without damage because
>>>> there
>>>>> are mostly tendons and bones with little muscle or nerve tissue. Since
>>>> this
>>>>> is not the case for human feet, our own countercurrent exchange
>> systems
>>>> do
>>>>> not prevent frostbite.
>>>>>
>>>>> Great topic!
>>>>>
>>>>> Jeff Ranta
>>>>> Stillwater, MN
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 5, 2021, at 10:21 AM, Judith Clayton <judit...@theriver.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have a heated birdbath that is about 25 degrees off level.
>>>>> Frequently, part of the heated pan is without water. I have found it
>>>>> curious that with a warm dry surface, birds are not heating their cold
>>>> feet
>>>>> there. And so, how do birds care for this necessary part of their
>>>> anatomy?
>>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>> Judy Alexandria (Douglas County), Mn
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is in the shelter of each other that people live.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Irish Proverb
>>>>>>
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>>>>>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice
>>>>> social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice
>>>>> social
>>>>> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Mike Koutnik
>>>> Mobile: 612-963-5551
>>>> makout...@gmail.com
>>>> LinkedIn: mkoutnik
>>>>
>>>> ----
>>>> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
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>>>>
>>>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice
>> social
>>>> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Laura Erickson
>>> Duluth, MN
>>> she/her/hers
>>>
>>> For the love, understanding, and protection of birds
>>> www.lauraerickson.com
>>> www.patreon.com/lauraerickson
>>>
>>> You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment.
>>> —Annie Dillard
>>>
>>> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
>>>
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>>>
>>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social
>>> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jason M. Frank
>> Ortonville Public Library
>> Founder & Vice President
>> Luddite Ornithologists League (LOL)
>> Big Stone County, Minnesota
>>
>
>
> --
> Laura Erickson
> Duluth, MN
> she/her/hers
>
> For the love, understanding, and protection of birds
> www.lauraerickson.com
> www.patreon.com/lauraerickson
>
> You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment.
> —Annie Dillard
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
>
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>
> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social
> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
It is in the shelter of each other that people live.
Irish Proverb
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Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
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During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social
distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
