Ever wonder what birds do with the other foot when they stand on only one?

This Mississippi Kite I photographed in La Junta today is perching on one foot and the other is held up to it's body in the top pic.

This close-up photo just above shows the foot has the toes retracted into a ball or fist.

Bottom pic shows the kite with the unused foot pulled up close to it's body and almost covered with feathers--a good way to keep it warm (though it was not cold yesterday). SeEtta