HOPPING IN BIRDS: IS THE CHOICE OF GAIT INFLUENCED BY CERVICAL MOBILITY AND FIELD OF VISION?

Abstract

One of the more intriguing questions in avian locomotion is why some birds, when on ground, choose to hop while others prefer walking. Biped gait is common to birds as well as the most evolved among mammals, man. Observations made show that, choice of gait in birds is determined by a remote factor–the range and extent of neck mobility. The wider the gamut of cervical mobility, the wider is the 'field of vision' available. Cervical movement capability is perhaps the single most deterministic factor in the bird's choice of terrestrial gait.