While driving the auto tour road at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, a friend flagged me down and pointed out a Red-shouldered Hawk perched close to the road. I eased over and raised my camera for a closer look. That is when I noticed something unusual. The hawk was standing on one leg. This Red-shouldered Hawk standing on one leg gave me a look at a behavior many people overlook.
If you study the photo closely, you can see the tucked leg pressed into the feathers of the bird’s chest. At first glance it might look like an injury, but this posture is completely normal for hawks and many other bird species.
The Science Behind One-Legged Perching in Hawks
Hawks stand on one leg primarily to conserve body heat. A bird’s legs and feet have very little feather coverage, which makes them a major source of heat loss. By lifting one leg and tucking it into the warm body feathers, the bird cuts exposed surface area nearly in half.
This behavior is most common during cold weather, but birds may also do it while resting even in milder conditions. Red-shouldered Hawks, herons, gulls, ducks, and shorebirds all use this same energy-saving trick.
In some rare cases, a bird may stand on one leg because of a temporary injury. However, when the bird looks relaxed and balanced like this one did, heat conservation is the most likely explanation.
Photography Notes
This hawk was perched just off the road, which gave me time to slow down, stabilize my lens, and wait for the right head angle. I focused on keeping the eye sharp and avoided moving too fast so I would not spook the bird. The tucked leg was not obvious at first. It only became clear when I reviewed the image on the camera screen.
Moments like this remind me why I always take time to study what I am photographing. Wildlife behavior often reveals itself in small details.
Image Information
- Date: 12/04/23
- Time: 09:01 AM
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Canon RF 800mm F11
- ISO: 640
- Aperture: f/11
- Shutter Speed: 1/1000
- Exposure Compensation: 0
- Focal Length: 800mm
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