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Fancy Footwork: All About Bird Feet

By Kenn And Kimberly Kaufman and Kirsten Schrader
Birds & Blooms Editorial Policies

Updated: Jan. 24, 2024

Birds can fly, but they also perch, run, swim and more. Walk this
way and learn why bird feet and toes are as important as wings and
feathers.
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On This Page
 How Do Birds Use Their Feet?
 Bird Feet and Toes for Perching
 Bird Feet for Climbing Trees
 Bird Feet and Toes for Walking
 Bird Feet for Swimming
 Bird Feet and Toes for Uneven Surfaces
 Bird Feet for Feeding
 Brightly Colored Bird Feet
How Do Birds Use Their Feet?
GETTY IMAG

As bird lovers, we spend a lot of time in awe of birds for their brightly
patterned plumage, wing shapes and entertaining antics, not to mention that they
can fly. But when not soaring through the sky, birds rely on their specially
structured feet to get around. Their unique toes come in arrangements such as
zygodactyl and anisodactyl, which may sound more like names of their dinosaur
cousins, but don’t worry! You can still appreciate just how crucial birds’ feet really
are. No scientific memorization required!

Learn all about hummingbird feet: can hummingbirds walk?

Bird Feet and Toes for Perching
COURTESY MICHEL

Many backyard birds, from robins to wrens and phoebes to finches, belong to a
large group called perching birds. The structure of their feet helps them perch on
thin twigs. These birds have three toes pointing forward and one pointing
backyard, an anisodactyl arrangement, so each foot touches the perch at four
separate points.

When birds settle on a twig, their toes automatically tighten, thanks to the muscles
in the legs and feet. Similarly, when birds rise up, the toes loosen their
grip. Chickadees that flit from branch to branch may grasp and release different
perches thousands of times a day.

Bird anatomy 101: here’s what you need to know.

Bird Feet for Climbing Trees
RICHARD DAY/DAYBREAK IMAGERYRed-bellied woodpecker

Woodpeckers, nuthatches and creepers are common tree-climbing birds. Their

powerful gripping toes help them cling snugly to bark or dead wood.

Learn all about bird wings and flight feathers.

Bird Feet and Toes for Walking
COURTESY DEBORAH LOCKETTStrong legs allow roadrunners to run 20 miles per hour.

Wild turkeys and ring-necked pheasants walk more than fly, and have strong,
sturdy legs and toes. Males of both species have a spur on the back of the leg,
which they may use when they get into fights. It’s typical for birds that spend a lot
of time on the ground, especially hard ground, to have strong feet.

Another bird known for strong legs is the greater roadrunner of the desert
Southwest. This bird has zygodactyl feet (two toes pointing forward and two
backyard). It leaves X-shaped tracks, and Native American legends celebrated the
fact that no one could tell from the tracks which way the bird was going. True to its
name, the roadrunner can run at 20 miles per hour for quite a distance.

The ultimate walking bird is probably the ostrich, the tallest bird in the world. Its
small wings are useless for flight, but it has huge, muscular legs and feet. While
most birds have four toes and a few have three, ostriches are the only birds in the
world with only two toes on each foot.

Learn about 6 bird beak types and how birds use them to eat.
Bird Feet for Swimming

COURTESY KANIKA WATERSWebbed feet help ducks paddle through water.

Birds that swim have special requirements. They paddle with their feet to move
across the water’s surface, but the skinny little toes of a typical bird wouldn’t be
useful for pushing against water. However, with webbing stretched between the
toes, those feet become very effective fins. The webbed feet of ducks, geese, and
swans are widely known, but we also see webbed feet on many
unrelated waterbirds, such as pelicans, loons, and gulls.

Some waterbirds have only partial webbing, often in the form of expanded lobes or
flaps along the edges of the toes. The bizarre feet of the American coot offer an
interesting example. Those lobed toes are good for swimming, and they’re also
suited for walking on land. However, grebes rarely come out on land, and they also
have lobbed toes.
Bird Feet and Toes for Uneven Surfaces
DAVE WELLINGCHECK OUT THOSE LONG TOES! BE

Birds can’t walk on water; but some marsh birds come close, with long toes that
allow them to traipse across the surface of very wet mud or floating plants. We see
this long-toed shape on various herons, rails, and sandpipers. The extreme
examples are found on tropical shorebirds called jacanas. Their ridiculously long
toes allow jacanas to walk around easily on top of floating lily paps. In fact, “lily-
trotter” is one nickname for them. One species, the northern jacana, shows up in
southern Texas at times.

What about walking on frozen water? Ptarmigan are small grouse that live in the
far north and high mountains, regions covered with deep snow for much of the
year. Like other grouse, they have fairly short toes. But ptarmigan grow a fringe of
stiff feathers along the sides of their toes, which act like snowshoes, allowing them
to walk across the surface of soft, fluffy snow.

Bird Feet for Feeding

COURTESY TJ WALLEROsprey use their feet to catch fish

The word “raptor” comes from a root word that means “to seize and carry away.”
Hawks, falcons, and owls have strong toes and long, sharp, curves claws,
specialized for hunting, capturing, and carrying prey. Most birds use their feet for
sitting in one place or moving around, but for these birds of prey, their feet are
their essential tools.

Most hawks and falcons have three forward toes and one back toe. On owls,
however, the outer toe is reversible: It usually swivels to the back when the owl is
perched or grasping prey, giving it a zygodactyl arrangement with two toes
forward and two back, but sometimes it perches with three toes forward.

And then there’s the osprey, which also has this reversible outer toe. The osprey, or
fish hawk, is famous for diving feet-first into water to catch fish. Besides being
able to swivel its outer toe around, the osprey also has very rough scales on the
soles of its toes, which likely help it keep a firm grip on slippery fish.

Raptors are big enough that you can easily see their claws, but the structure and
look of songbirds’ feet is often overlooked. Head outside and observe how even
the most common birds in your backyard get around when they’re not flying. It’s
proof that from their feathers to their toes, birds are endlessly fascinating.
Brightly Colored Bird Feet
ROLF NUSSBAUMERA white ibis has red legs and feet

Bird feet tend to have dull, dark colors, but here are a few that flaunt bright hues.
 Snowy egret: Black legs and yellow feet
 Blue-footed booby: You can guess this one!
 Least bittern: Greenish-yellow legs and feet
 Louisiana waterthrush: Bubblegum pink feet
 Blackpoll warbler: Yellow feet
 Horned puffin: Orange feet
 White ibis: Red legs and feet

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Originally Published: January 24, 2024

AUTHOR

Kenn And Kimberly Kaufman

As a teenager in the 1970s, Kenn Kaufman hitch-hiked all over North America in pursuit of birds, an
adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a professional
nature tour leader, taking groups to all seven continents, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and
illustrator. His 14 books incl...
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AUTHOR

Kirsten Schrader
Now Birds & Blooms' content director, Kirsten has been writing about birding and gardening for 17 years.
Her writing and editing roles have spanned the print and digital landscape. Although she has traveled to
see amazing birds throughout the U.S., Kirsten has one dream bucket list bird—the male painted bunting.
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