A new study by CRI Research Associate Pauline Provini and her collaborator from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, has been published in the journal Systematic Biology!
Have you ever wondered why some birds walk and others hop? This study tests the main hypotheses generally put forward to answer this question.
Is it the size of the bird? Or the way they use their legs?
Based on the exploration of over a thousand bird species, the study suggests that tree-dwelling birds are more inclined to hop than strictly terrestrial species. It makes sense! To get from one branch to the next, it's more efficient to jump or hop than to walk to the next.
The graphs presented here show the evolution of locomotion and arboriculture in over 1,000 bird species. These two characteristics are correlated.
The full text of the study is available here.
