How Birds Stay Warm in Winter - And How to Help Them

For the last few days it has been exceptionally cold here in Maine. Birds and squirrels keep showing up at our bird feeders despite the cold or perhaps because of the cold. While looking at the birds at our feeders yesterday my youngest daughter asked how the birds stay warm enough to not freeze their feet. It was a good question and I found the answer in this short BirdNerd video.  

By watching BirdNerd's How Birds Stay Warm in Winter video my daughter and I learned that some birds can regulate the temperature of their feet separately from the rest of their bodies. Watch the video to learn more about that and other ways that birds stay warm in the winter. 

There are other things you can do to help birds in the winter besides putting out bird feeders and keeping them full. Those things are explained to young students in the SciShow Kids video titled How to Help a Bird.