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A great blue heron resting on one leg on a branch of a dead tree. So why do birds stand on one leg? It's a wonder this heron doesn't tip over. The winds were strong and I did see him almost tip over, but he adjusted to regain his balance. According to Audubon. org, birds stand on one leg keeping the other leg tucked up into their body feathers for warmth. A bird with its foot tucked up reduces by half the amount of heat lost through its unfeathered limbs. Birds get cold too and this is an adaptation called "rete mirabile" that minimizes heat loss. Birds' feet have a miraculous adaptation that keeps them from freezing. Rete mirabile — Latin for "wonderful net" — is a fine, netlike pattern of arteries that interweaves blood from a bird's heart with the veins carrying cold blood from its feet and legs. The system cools the blood so the little blood that goes down to the feet is already cold, so the birds don't lose much heat. The small amount that goes to the feet is likely just enough to keep the feet from freezing.