What Is Roosting?

Photo Heather Ray, WCEP

Here's how two experts answered when we asked: What does roosting mean?

Tom Stehn, Aransas NWR biologist and Whooping Crane Recovery Team:

"Roosting refers to cranes moving to a safe location (a roost) to spend the night. It doesn't necessarily refer to sleeping, although that is primarily what occurs at a roost. You'd really have to ask a crane why it sometimes stands on one leg to sleep. Cranes will sleep standing on one leg or two legs. They sometimes tuck their head under their wing when they sleep; other times they simply stand and the neck droops a little and they doze off. I don't know why cranes stand on one leg. Perhaps it allows them to rest muscles in one leg at a time or it helps them keep a leg warm during cold weather. Perhaps there are other reasons. I don't really know!"


Korie Klink, Visitor Programs Coordinator at ICF:
"By definition, roosting is "to sit, rest, or sleep, as birds on a pole, tree or other perch at night." I suppose their one leg could be considered an "other perch." I don't believe the term roosting is limited to sleeping only while standing up, but rather the behavior of resting or sleeping.

Also, cranes stand on one leg for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it is simply a comfortable position for them. It seems unrealistic to us because our favorite sleeping position is horizontal, but cranes favor the single leg posture. In fact, we have been informed that if a crane is roosting on both legs, it can be taken as an indication that the bird is in ill health. More practically, standing on one leg allows the cranes to keep the lifted leg warm by nestling it in their belly feathers. Every few minutes, they'll switch to get the other leg warm."

• Write a paragraph that explains what roosting is and why water roosting is important. Write a good topic sentence and include important statements and details that support it.

National Science Education Standards

• Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal or environmental stimulus.
• Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much more remains to be understood.

Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).