Reader’s wildlife video

April 17, 2019 • 7:30 am

Reader Rick Longworth sent a video, complete with sound, of birds feeding; and adds a note on bird feet as lagniappe. Here are his notes:

Following my February submission showing winter’s backyard birds, in early-March I filmed four bird species feeding on berries at the side of the house. I was interested in capturing their feeding behavior and preferences. Robins for instance are well known for eating worms and insects during the summer but switch to fruit in winter. In order of appearance:

Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

American robin (Turdus migratorius)

Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) red shafted.

Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia)

While editing the film, I noticed all but the magpie swallowed berries whole.  The magpie had a distinctive style, using both feet to hold the fruit while politely tearing small bits off for gulping.  A tidy, highly refined technique, I thought. Well suited to the corvid family reputation for intelligence (01:35).

In summer, the flicker eats ants and other insects. I observed that the flicker, which is in the woodpecker family (order, piciformes), was not particularly adept at footwork. Notice how it clings rather clumsily to the fruit bunch and slips off when grasping a straight branch (00:32). It is not in the class of perching birds or passerines (mainly songbirds) which have a specially adapted leg tendon which can automatically grasp when the leg bends.  This allows them to sleep while perching and helps them hold on in a strong wind.

The arrangement of digits is also a factor in perching ability. The majority of birds have anisodactyl toes, with three toes forward and one back.  Flickers and other woodpeckers exhibit the zygodactyl arrangement with two toes facing forward  and two back . This is a well-known adaptation for climbing on bark.

There are several variations in digit arrangement:

20 thoughts on “Reader’s wildlife video”

  1. Magpie carefully wiping beak on the branch after dining. Nice video Rick! Bird feet are so interesting & often kind of ridiculous.

  2. Marvelous. I’m amazed that you got that close, especially to the flickers which are very shy. Was it a remote camera setup?

    1. Most of this film was shot through windows. The birds can’t see me and my camera because of reflection.

  3. What kind of berries are those?

    I’d love to be able to see so much berry feeding in my back yard. I’m gearing up to rip out a useless hedge and replace it with bushes that produce berries. Berries like the winterberry that last over the winter seem like great ones to add to the mix.

      1. Thanks! The crab apple I grew up with had much larger fruits (cherry-sized). I will have to look for one of the varieties with clusters of small fruits.

        I often take photos through our windows as well. It works well except near sunset, when the light tends to hit me and thus emphasizes my movement instead of hiding it!

        1. Windows add some distortion, of course, but when it’s a question of getting some decent imagery or scaring the birds out of range, it’s the way to go. I dream of setting up some good portable blinds…someday.

  4. Lovely film. Thank you for pointing out about the ability to cling to branches and digit arrangements. I never knew anything about that.

  5. Flickers “ant” don’t they? Place ants under their wings and elsewhere. The agitated ants release formic acid which discourages feather mites.

  7. In the pamprodactyl arrangement one toe can rotate around to give a better grip. In other arrangements it is believed a toe may be of no use at all – vestigial, but fully formed.

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