Birds

[Eris]

Did you ever notice how some birds walk, and others jump around? Do you have any theories why this is? Are the jumping birds retarded, or impostors from space? Are there other explanations? Please discuss.

[Señor Nobody]

Pfft, I discovered their evil plot years ago. They are trying to become some sort of bird/human hybrid so they are practicing how to walk/jump/run with their legs.

I don't know how they plan to jumpstart this transformation though. They are quite crafty, and wont talk. Even under torture.

[3pleT]

Walking birds just logically concluded that walking animals are intellectually superior. Therefore, the jumping ones are either retarded or velociraptors in disguise.

[IFS]

I think the jumping birds don't have proper hips to move there legs, so they just jump around, although I don't see a point in them walking or jumping if they can fly, I get the legs though they need stand on the ground to eat but why would they want to walk if they can fly

[Taikutsu_Remedy]

Space birds. Its always space birds.

Though the velociraptor hypothesis does seem to have credence as well...

[kero_-_chan]

i am aware this is a spam thread.

however, hopping birds are always small, it requires less energy to hop and thus have evolved the walking muslces into an atrophied, useless state.

walkers, are bigger then a mini-basket ball, their weight and density makes walking use less energy then hoping would, and have thus retained their legs muscles.

there are exceptions, but that is the main reason, they aren't alien space birds, though all birds come from dinosaurs, so suckle on that if your after a conspiracy theory.

[Buruku]

i am aware this is a spam thread.

This thread is legit.


Yes I've noticed this...it's mostly the very small and light birds that do the hopping. I think it would be awkward for their little bodies to take actual steps, and they know hopping is the cuter thing to do, some birds are very cute-conscious.

[Mr. Panda]

Those who walk are too fat to make a jumping motion.

[*Tsuki*]

*examines birds*
huh. Well, I don't think it's always the smaller birds that hop.
For example, my cockatial and my bourque parakeets never hop. They either walk around (actually the keets run around)
And I don't think jumping ones are stupid. My caique jumps, but is a very smart bird.
Though a little bit of it might be the cause of Kero-_-Chan's answer, I don't think it applys to all of them.

As for why they jump . . . I'm not really sure, but it isn't all the time. Sometimes it's because they're on uneven surfaces, or other times because they want to cover more space in less time, I believe.

[SigmaSD]

Ha, the same thing can be said for squirrels. The gray ones run while the red ones hop. It's all so strange, but it has to do with minor differences in their leg muscles and other structures.

As for birds, hmm..... I guess the small ones can't support their body if they walk, so they hop.

Either way, they are not to be trusted.

+

[Dr. Hax]

Those birds didn't make the cut in that Hitchcock movie.

On a serious note, it's all genetic makeup and a matter of who or what impregnated who or what.

Some are too young to fly and some are too big. The big ones run instead and at high speeds as well for the purposes of catching prey or running. As for the ones that jump, they are either fledglings or noobs.

[Storm Strife]

Aren't some of the jumping birds doing it to attract earthworms?

I think the hopping is meant to simulate the sound and feel of rainfall, which makes the earthworms head above ground so they don't drown. The bird then has lunch.

That, or they do it because all the cool birds jump, and only squares walk.

[IFS]

Ha, the same thing can be said for squirrels. The gray ones run while the red ones hop. It's all so strange, but it has to do with minor differences in their leg muscles and other structures.

As for birds, hmm..... I guess the small ones can't support their body if they walk, so they hop.

Either way, they are not to be trusted.

+

I agree with the squirrels, they act all innocent and then all of a sudden they jump at you from a tree when your not looking, scary stuff.

[Sanosuke23]

I think it would be awkward for their little bodies to take actual steps, and they know hopping is the cuter thing to do, some birds are very cute-conscious.

This. It's all a clever PR stunt. This is why your average citizen finds sparrows cute and ostriches strange-looking. It's all just one big avian popularity contest.


NOTE: Pigeons are the exception to this, as they are super awesome and also neat.

[kero_-_chan]

by the gods ........ i didnt give you people an oppinion, i gave you an answer .... all the comments after what i said are based on nothing, go read a book on bird behaviour. also, storm strife, thats been proven wrong.

[Sanosuke23]

by the gods ........ i didnt give you people an oppinion, i gave you an answer .... all the comments after what i said are based on nothing, go read a book on bird behaviour. also, storm strife, thats been proven wrong.

Are you implying that my post is somehow less than factual? I am shocked and appalled, good sir or madam.

FACT: Every member of the animal kingdom that humankind has any sort of contact with instinctively knows that we are currently the dominant species and seeks to endear themselves to us.

FACT: Fauna market research has shown them that cute things are more likely to be tolerated and possibly even fed/sheltered.

FACT: Humans generally think small hopping things are cute.

FACT: Cogito Ergo Ipso Facto, small birds developed hopping muscles.

FACT: Thanks to the kangaroo and its wild drunken mood swings, large hopping things are less cute and more horrifying.

FACT: Therefore, larger birds developed a shwagger because animals walking like pimps=respeck.

FACT: Pigeons are the king of this, which is why even though they're generally considered flying disease machines people will let pigeons chill while they set out to eradicate rat-kind.

FACT: Placing "FACT:" in front of statements makes them true. Only when I do it though, if you do it you're just being silly.

[Forgotten Show]

Though the velociraptor hypothesis does seem to have credence as well...

I concur. Further scientific inquiry is necessary before we confirm or deny anything, though.


Bad Memory

[DOOM!]

Evry boid wants to be a Goodfeather.

[Storm Strife]

by the gods ........ i didnt give you people an oppinion, i gave you an answer .... all the comments after what i said are based on nothing, go read a book on bird behaviour.

You must be new here. Allow me to welcome you to Misc.

Evry boid wants to be a Goodfeather.

Get out.

[Eris]

by the gods ........ i didnt give you people an oppinion, i gave you an answer .... all the comments after what i said are based on nothing, go read a book on bird behaviour. also, storm strife, thats been proven wrong.

It's pretty hopeless to come to AF with your egghead "science" and "education" (believe me, I speak from years of experience on trying to explain to people how the big bang was not an explosion but an expansion of space time. It takes at most 2 posts until someone starts rambling again about why it makes no sense that the universe suddenly exploded). So what I'm saying is that no matter how properly and scientifically you state what's what, you still end up with a confused 8 page thread about whether Jesus would jump or walk like a pimp if he was a bird.

[Bibi of the Blue Sea]

Maybe it has something to do with the amount of energy being used to take a step rather than to hop?
Small birds seem to hop more while larger birds walk. Or maybe it's because small birds gain more distance by hopping around on the ground than actually taking steps. I think it could be an evolutionary advantage to hop since their legs are small. I've noticed this before with chickens. Baby chicks hop around alot. As they get older and bigger, they start actually walking.
However, it could be a cute thing also.

[Acnologia]

I actually notice it's mainly the smaller ones that hop, and the bigger ones walk, for example, I've seen Robins hopping, but ducks walking.

Maybe their legs aren't well enough developed?

[Eris]

Maybe their legs aren't well enough developed?

Hmm. The only other thing I can think of that are fixed in a pair like small bird legs is eyes. So maybe small birds are big birds that have turned upside down, moved all it's organs to it's head, move it's brains to it's torso, sprouted legs where their eyes used to be, and eyes where their legs used to be. Most importantly: Can small birds move their eyes independently?

[wolfgirl90]

by the gods ........ i didnt give you people an oppinion, i gave you an answer .... all the comments after what i said are based on nothing, go read a book on bird behaviour. also, storm strife, thats been proven wrong.

Sure, you gave an answer but that does not mean that it was the ONLY answer. What you said was right in a way, but it was not the complete answer. In fact, there have been other people who have answered the question much better than you have ("Walking muscles"? Honestly).

You were on the right track when it came to the relationship between weight/energy consumption and whether a bird will hop or run, but it really has nothing to do with leg muscles, or rather, the strength of the leg muscles. Small birds did not lose their "walking muscles" (as if that made any sense).

Perching birds, like songbirds (bluebirds, cardinals, etc), are most likely going to hop. They do this for a variety of reasons:
1. Perching birds are going to be in trees and it makes more sense to hop between branches, instead of walking (that does not that they can't walk at all).
2. They can cover more distance by hopping than walking and doing this uses less energy (that, again, does not mean that they can't walk).
3. Their feet are arranged in a Anisodactyl arrangement (3 in the front, 1 in the back), which makes walking difficult for some birds.
4. They feel like it. Smaller birds have a choice between walking and running. Larger birds and ground based birds have to walk/run, since it takes more energy for them to hop. However, again, this does not mean that large birds and ground dwellers can't hop.

There is no hard and fast rule between the weight of a bird and whether they can run or hop. There is no concrete explanation for this. For example, ostriches and emus run, but so do chickens and roadrunners. A roadrunner is quite smaller than a chicken, in yet, it walks/runs like a chicken. A cardinal hops, but a meadowlark will walk. Crows and jays belong to the same family of birds (Corvidae), in yet, jays hop while crows walk. Birds like robins, blackbirds and ravens are known for doing both.

Most importantly: Can small birds move their eyes independently?

Birds, in general, can't move their eyes at all. A few birds can (like the Great Coromant), but most birds can not move their eyes. Their eyes are fixed into their skull. However, the lens of their eyes extend outward (just like our eyes), which allows bigger images to be sent to the retina.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

It's pretty hopeless to come to AF with your egghead "science" and "education" (believe me, I speak from years of experience on trying to explain to people how the big bang was not an explosion but an expansion of space time. It takes at most 2 posts until someone starts rambling again about why it makes no sense that the universe suddenly exploded). So what I'm saying is that no matter how properly and scientifically you state what's what, you still end up with a confused 8 page thread about whether Jesus would jump or walk like a pimp if he was a bird.

Jesus-bird would have to walk, because hopping on water sounds stupid.