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.
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.