Birds’ Amazing Balancing Act

 Birds have an organ of equilibrium in the inner ear that coordinates their movements in flight. But this organ does not explain their ability to stand erect and walk, ‘since their bodies, unlike those of humans, are oriented horizontally and their tails are not an adequate counterweight,” says Germany’s Leipziger Volkszeitung.


“After four years of research, animal physiologist Reinhold Necker succeeded in finding a second organ of equilibrium in pigeons,” the paper explains. Necker discovered nerve cells and cavities containing fluid in the pelvic region of birds, which evidently control their balance.


“When the fluid spaces were opened,” says the report, “the pigeons were no longer able to sit erect or walk once their eyes were covered. They fell from their perches or toppled over on their sides. Yet, they were still able to fly.”