Why is it that birds only retain scales on their feet? Why aren't

>>2376399
the idea that more than just some, or even all dinosaurs actually had feathers gained acceptance a long time ago

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Theres a bird with paws.

>>2376409
This guy looks like he's wearing pants.

>>2376399
Birds came from a very tiny group of dinosaurs, and that group was covered in feathers
They came from an even smaller section of that group - the gliders, who would have even more feathers.

>>2376409
That bird looks comfy with that fur.

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post comfy birds with pants

>>2376409
QT3.14

>>2376399
Because they aren't, and never were reptiles.

>>2376399
small endothermic animals benefit from having insulation. even in warm climates temperatures will drop to dangerous levels at night, so small warm-blooded animals need something to keep them warm.

birds are constrained in size because of flight. You can't be huge and heavy and still fly. Not easily anyways. And they need to be warm blooded to fly. Powered flight requires too much energy for a cold-blooded vertebrate. To make all that energy, birds have a high-flow lung. This lung also cools them off, so it makes having insulation even more important.

some birds give up flight and those ones usually begin to lose feathers on parts of the body. Given enough time they'd probably lose all their feathers.

now as to why birds lack insulation on their feet, one of the main reasons is there aren't any huge blood vessels in their feet so they don't lose a lot of heat from there. Little heat loss means little need for insulation.

>>2376464
found the creationist

>>2376756
you say that like it's a bad thing.

>>2376758
It is

>>2376399
I'm no biologist, but I recon that scales are probably garbage at insulating and not particularly aerodynamic. It gets cold up there in the air.

>>2376409
What is this?

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>>2376434

>>2376409
cute!

>>2377003
JUST

Aren't the "scales" on bird feet just modified feathers?

Why would we have naked wild birds running around? That wouldn't benefit them in the slightest. Feathers are there for protection, flight and insulation.

Bare legs in vultures and ostriches allow them to cool off.

>>2376399

Probably the same reason the skin on our feet and palms are stiffer than the rest of our body.

Depending on the bird, they're walking over rough terrain, hunting, and perching. They use them to nest, eat, scratch, and more. The texture of the scales also adds a nice grip. Scales are pretty resilient to a beating.

>>2376409
Someone tell me what bird this is

>>2377259
Aren't the "feathers" on bird bodies just modified scales?

>>2377310
Yes

>>2376893
>>2377297
House Martin

>>2376758
>>2376764
Kek
Actually it is

>>2376764
>believing stories made up by Jews or by a degenerate pedophile
>stories made to replace pagan religions and to domesticate and control other races into being passive sheep