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The way they walk (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Barmpot
- Start date
christineredgate
Winner of the Copeland Wildlife Photographer of th
I spend hours watching our Jackdaws ,who are not exactly small birds,and they hop/jump,do not think I have actually seen them walking as such.But yes,as Jason has mentioned,the Wagtails certainly walk,and very quickly,but the Blackbirds do run/walk,esp when running for sultanas!!!
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology (1-24) seems to be saying that the first birds hopped from tree branch to tree branch, and that some birds who now spend a lot of time on the ground now walk instead, but the changeover has been pretty patchy. For example the Greater Roadrunner runs, but has close relatives amongst the Cuckoos that hop. Most passerines hop, but Crows and Starlings walk. Adult Larks, Pipits and Wagtails walk and run, but juveniles hop.
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I asked really because when I watch the very small birds in my garden, wrens, blue tits and robins for example, they only ever seem to jump, but I guess with blue tits in particular it's because they're rarely on the ground. I've never seen a dunnock walk either, they always jump. I know starlings walk, and I always think they look quite funny.mcdowella said:
