yeah, it’d be way better if they did the feet right. actually, almost all drawings/depictions of owls have 3 toes on the front and 1 in the back, and because of that i didn’t know until i got really into owls that one of the toes can go to the back, making an X pattern
oh and since learning that, i’ve always wondered, are all owls’ feet like that or are there species that have feet more like an eagle’s (always 3 toes forward 1 backward)?
I think it’s actually the other way around. Owls are classified as zygodactyl, which is the 2x2 layout, but unlike other zygodactyl birds like woodpeckers and parrots, only the owls can swing the outer toes forward.
I’m pretty sure they’re all that way. I just checked the Ketupa genus owls, as they seem to have some less common traits, and I didn’t see anything saying they had different feet. Ask the pics I could find we’re all 2x2.
interesting. i did not know owls were that closely related to parrots and woodpeckers (or even the same about those two), and i didn’t know woodpeckers were 2x2 (i thought parrots and owls just got some convergent evolution)
but that makes a lot of sense. it’d be pretty hard for a bird to reevolve 3x1 feet. i previously thought the owls evolved 2x2 feet by themselves, so i also thought there could’ve been a group of owls that was outside the 2x2 group
i guess i just shouldve checked owl taxonomy and closely related groups lol
There are a number of toe arrangements, and they seem to develop from the niche the birds occupy. Like the woodpecker has the same 2x2 setup as the owl, but the woodpecker isn’t grabbing prey, but it’s hanging on vertical surfaces, and having that second toe going backwards, it gets a better grip on the tree. It sounds more like convergent evolution, since I don’t think owls seem very close to parrots, woodpeckers, cuckoos, or any of the other 2x2 birds.
Nightjars are thought to be owls’ closest relatives, and they have anisodactyl feet with the 3x1 configuration.
There’s a ton of reading just in bird feet that 8 never expected, but that’s probably my mistake, since bird feet have some of the jobs of our hands in addition to being specialized feet, so it’s no wonder there’s such an assortment of special adaptations.
yeah, it’d be way better if they did the feet right. actually, almost all drawings/depictions of owls have 3 toes on the front and 1 in the back, and because of that i didn’t know until i got really into owls that one of the toes can go to the back, making an X pattern
oh and since learning that, i’ve always wondered, are all owls’ feet like that or are there species that have feet more like an eagle’s (always 3 toes forward 1 backward)?
I think it’s actually the other way around. Owls are classified as zygodactyl, which is the 2x2 layout, but unlike other zygodactyl birds like woodpeckers and parrots, only the owls can swing the outer toes forward.
I’m pretty sure they’re all that way. I just checked the Ketupa genus owls, as they seem to have some less common traits, and I didn’t see anything saying they had different feet. Ask the pics I could find we’re all 2x2.
interesting. i did not know owls were that closely related to parrots and woodpeckers (or even the same about those two), and i didn’t know woodpeckers were 2x2 (i thought parrots and owls just got some convergent evolution)
but that makes a lot of sense. it’d be pretty hard for a bird to reevolve 3x1 feet. i previously thought the owls evolved 2x2 feet by themselves, so i also thought there could’ve been a group of owls that was outside the 2x2 group
i guess i just shouldve checked owl taxonomy and closely related groups lol
There are a number of toe arrangements, and they seem to develop from the niche the birds occupy. Like the woodpecker has the same 2x2 setup as the owl, but the woodpecker isn’t grabbing prey, but it’s hanging on vertical surfaces, and having that second toe going backwards, it gets a better grip on the tree. It sounds more like convergent evolution, since I don’t think owls seem very close to parrots, woodpeckers, cuckoos, or any of the other 2x2 birds.
Nightjars are thought to be owls’ closest relatives, and they have anisodactyl feet with the 3x1 configuration.
There’s a ton of reading just in bird feet that 8 never expected, but that’s probably my mistake, since bird feet have some of the jobs of our hands in addition to being specialized feet, so it’s no wonder there’s such an assortment of special adaptations.