birding-aus

Thesis topic #2308 - Peckers vs Scratchers

To: Laurie Knight <>
Subject: Thesis topic #2308 - Peckers vs Scratchers
From: Carl Clifford <>
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 22:29:44 +1000
Laurie,

To each their ecological niche.

Carl Clifford

On 15/05/2013, at 22:07, Laurie Knight <> wrote:

> I came across a foraging Buff-banded Rail as I was passing through the Roma 
> St Parklands yesterday.  Whereas a Junglefowl, Scrubfowl, Turkey or Logrunner 
> would be busily scratching away in the leaf litter, the BBR was using its 
> bill to fossick for food in a flower bed.
> 
> This got me thinking about the nature of ground-feeding species that forage 
> with their feet vs species that forage exclusively with their bills.
> 
> I suspect there are few examples of shorebirds that use their feet to uncover 
> food (I've seen a gull paddling its feet on the water's edge but that's 
> pretty much an exception).  In contrast, a number of dryland birds are very 
> dependent on their feet to uncover food.  The thing about the BBR was that it 
> was foraging with its bill in a medium that other species would use their 
> feet to clear.
> 
> So what is it that sets the programming for ground-feeding behaviour?  Some 
> shorebird species would seem to have feet that could be used for foraging ...
> 
> Regards, Laurie.
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