You know it’s cold when the herring gulls practice yoga. This sunbathing position is a heat conservation adaptation used by birds that have relatively long uncovered legs.

There can be a significant heat loss from standing on two bare legs on a cold day. What can a poor bird do? Cut heat losses in half by tucking one leg under its insulating feathers and hoping not to get blown over.

Additional heat loss management techniques of seagulls (and other birds) include assuming an egg brooding position on the ground – when the ground is not too cold. There also is the technique of tucking bare faces under warm wing shoulder feathers.

Many shorter-legged winter birds can fluff their body feathers up enough to provide extra insulation and cover most of their bare legs in cold weather. See our archive images of a Northern Cardinal and Mourning Dove:

(Primary image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on January 22, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Baby, It's Cold Outside