Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Sleeping Duck Behavior 
Name: Joe
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
Why do ducks tuck their bills under their feathers while they sleep? Why do they stand on one leg?

Replies:
An interesting question. The best answer I have found so far is that they reduce exposure of unprotected areas of the body - the bill and feet - by tucking them into feathers. A sleeping bird will occasionally alternate the foot held up. There is some interesting information on the web and in books about level of alertness to danger while sleeping, but not much about the posture. Many other types of birds share these sleeping traits.

J. Elliott

Click here to return to the Zoology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory