Early Bird
Posted by Lisa Shykes on February 23, 2005
Q: What is the only bird with two toes?
A: All birds have 4 toes, generally three forward and one reverse. This is true of almost all perching birds. Other birds like cuckoos and roadrunners have two toes forward and two toes reverse. Some unusual birds like owls, can position their toes so sometimes three are forward or sometimes two!
Here's a bird that seems to defy the rule, the Three-toed Woodpecker. It looks like two toes forward and one in reverse. In reality, the one rear toe is two toes fused together.
The scientific term for the fused toes is "syndactyly."
So, if there is a bird somewhere with two toes it must be a case of double syndactyly!
Jim Berry ( February 23, 2005)
Filed under: Birds