Do wild birds experience cold feet in the snow? This is what I pondered recently while photographing over-wintering robins and black-capped chickadees. The question is not do their
feet
get cold. They surely do, even if not as cold as our bare feet would. But what do they experience it as? Pain or discomfort, to be nevertheless tolerated, ignored, all in a day’s life?
Or really no uncomfortable sensation at all, since they evolved under these conditions and an overly negative nervous system interpretation would be maladaptive? Some day after AI
has learned their language, we’ll have to ask them.
![](https://pbase.com/art1/image/173426319/original.jpg)
![](https://pbase.com/art1/image/173426320/original.jpg)