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| The scansorial foot of the woodpeckers, with comments on the evolution of perching and climbing feet in birds. American Museum novitates ; no. 1931 |
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| Title: | The scansorial foot of the woodpeckers, with comments on the evolution of perching and climbing feet in birds. American Museum novitates ; no. 1931 |
| Other Titles: | Evolution of perching and climbing feet in birds Foot of woodpeckers |
| Authors: | Bock, Walter Joseph, 1933- Miller, Waldron DeWitt. |
| Issue Date: | 1959 |
| Publisher: | New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History |
| Series/Report no.: | American Museum novitates ; no. 1931 |
| Abstract: | "The scansorial foot of the woodpeckers is not a zygodactyl foot, as commonly believed, but a quite different structure - the ectropodactyl foot. With the exception of the most generalized members of the Picinae, which retain the ancestral zygodactyl foot as the climbing foot, the toes of a climbing woodpecker are arranged as follows: toes two and three point forward, the fourth toe is thrust out to the lateral side at right angles to the fore toes, and the hallux usually lies beneath the distal end of the tarsometatarsus in a cramped position and is functionless. In the ivory-billed woodpecker, the hallux is long and functional and is directed laterally next to the fourth toe. The fourth toe is either directed forward or thrust out to the side. In all the climbing woodpeckers, the fore toes, together with the stiffened tail feathers which are propped against the tree trunk, serve to support the bird against the downward and inward component of gravity. The laterally directed fourth to... |
| Description: | 45 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45). |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2246/5316 |
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