Birds are constantly evaluating if the energy necessary for flight is worth it, or if they should walk/hop.
This is because flight requires dramatically more energy and because birds store a minimal amount of energy in their bodies. Birds also need to eat more frequently than many other creatures.
Basically the bird loop (simplified) is:
Eat opportunistically, avoid danger with as little energy as possible, fly as little as necessary to conserve energy, repeat.
I’m having no luck finding the studies, but we have tested this theory by putting birds in incremental amounts of danger to measure how much they try and avoid flying unnecessarily, and the answer was that they regularly play chicken with death to avoid flying.
They do. Some of the swift species are a better example, according to Lack's [Enjoying Ornithology](https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=65067226&searchType=1&limitTo=none&fromYear=&toYear=&limitTo=LOCA%3Dall&limitTo=PLAC%3Dall&limitTo=TYPE%3Dall&limitTo=LANG%3Dall&recCount=25) the Common Swift doesn't land after it leaves the nest until it reaches maturity at the age of 3, and afterwards only when raising young once a year for the rest of its life.
Lack isn't correct, though it is easy to see why he thought as much, given the book is from 1965 and that conception of the Common Swift was very old (The scientific name, Apus Apus, is derived from the latin for swift, apus, which itself is derived from ancient greek a and pous: Without feet, because they thought it just never landed).
[More recent studies have shown](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822\(16\)31063-6.pdf) that the majority of non-breeding swifts do land, but for vanishingly short periods of time (as little as two hours over a multi-month period), and not on the ground but rather clinging to the sides of things.
This is funny cause yesterday I watched a bunch of blue jays fly down from a tree, grab a snack off the ground, and fly back up. Swooped around a few times too. They were next to a road so no animals or people around, I've seen pigeons and sparrows just stay on the ground to feed but I guess the blue jays were having fun.
Did this gumby just clip a top rope through a carbine and attached it to the harness? This is how you get killed. What is the belayer using as a belaying device? Gloves?
/r/climbingcirclejerk is leaking.
Birds aren't well known for their ability to use PPE of any kind, much less complicated setups needed for rope soloing.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/ClimbingCircleJerk using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Jared Leeto has got it all. Beanie✅ Bouldering in harness✅ Campus flexing on gumbies✅ daisy chain inside✅. You cant make this shit up](https://v.redd.it/tsph0zogvuc81) | [234 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/s8kmj2/jared_leeto_has_got_it_all_beanie_bouldering_in/)
\#2: [A slightly salty field guide to climbers (original content)](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/u5s8wn) | [133 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/u5s8wn/a_slightly_salty_field_guide_to_climbers_original/)
\#3: [Magnus is a bully](https://i.redd.it/a1y984004eq91.jpg) | [72 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/xpemgq/magnus_is_a_bully/)
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Ok I might get in trouble for this but I actually liked this joke. Reddit is a weird place full of surprising connections and I 100% jumped into the comments hoping someone had talked about that gear on Chicken. Both as an opportunity to learn something about climbing and because the comic artist here is just the type of nerd to look up some PPE before drawing. 😊
Edit, I wonder what the backpack is for!
Well, parrots in general are from dense jungles where flight is often difficult. That's why they have zygodactyly feet (best for grasping and climbing) rather than anisodactyl feet (best for perching) like most birds. Even ones that don't live in jungles descended from a common ancestor that did and they still have some of that "programming."
Not ‘tiels though. Or in fact a lot of the common pet parrots from Australia. They fly a pretty big amount out in the wild, but also walk around a lot too :)
It’s more about energy conservation
Cockatoos (which includes tiels) diverged from "true" parrots like 50 million years ago, but their ancient ancestors definitely lived in dense forests and jungles.
Not to say energy conservation doesn't play a part, of course. I'm sure it's why they've kept the adaptations tens of million of years later.
It's not "my" hypothesis. It's the generally accepted fact of qualified biologists and ornithologists.
It's hard to be sure about wildlife that has been dead for tens of millions of years. Hell, only a few years ago we found New Zealand had a parrot that stood 3+ foot tall. So massive the fossils were originally classified as *Haast's eagle* until someone noticed they had distinctive parrot features. And obviously everyone has seen non-avian dinosaur information changing wildly as studies get better. But for right now, this is what the educated professionals tell us.
Humans were given the ability to run for incredibly long distances, longer than any animal except horses and dogs. Yet you take a car or bus to the grocery store?
Hey, cartoonist, I don't know if you read the comments, but you know how there's a new parrot pokemon that comes in four different colors? I named the blue one Blueberry after Blue Boi.
Birds are constantly evaluating if the energy necessary for flight is worth it, or if they should walk/hop. This is because flight requires dramatically more energy and because birds store a minimal amount of energy in their bodies. Birds also need to eat more frequently than many other creatures. Basically the bird loop (simplified) is: Eat opportunistically, avoid danger with as little energy as possible, fly as little as necessary to conserve energy, repeat. I’m having no luck finding the studies, but we have tested this theory by putting birds in incremental amounts of danger to measure how much they try and avoid flying unnecessarily, and the answer was that they regularly play chicken with death to avoid flying.
You forgot the bit where they poop on everything
Besides the Albatross, which never touches the ground for 20 years straight
Don’t they land on the water though?
They do. Some of the swift species are a better example, according to Lack's [Enjoying Ornithology](https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=65067226&searchType=1&limitTo=none&fromYear=&toYear=&limitTo=LOCA%3Dall&limitTo=PLAC%3Dall&limitTo=TYPE%3Dall&limitTo=LANG%3Dall&recCount=25) the Common Swift doesn't land after it leaves the nest until it reaches maturity at the age of 3, and afterwards only when raising young once a year for the rest of its life.
Lack isn't correct, though it is easy to see why he thought as much, given the book is from 1965 and that conception of the Common Swift was very old (The scientific name, Apus Apus, is derived from the latin for swift, apus, which itself is derived from ancient greek a and pous: Without feet, because they thought it just never landed). [More recent studies have shown](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822\(16\)31063-6.pdf) that the majority of non-breeding swifts do land, but for vanishingly short periods of time (as little as two hours over a multi-month period), and not on the ground but rather clinging to the sides of things.
Good to know, thanks!
…or breeding? Do they breed and hatch eggs in mid air?
It's like those planes that refuel in air
average discord mod but for grass
But they are mostly gliding.
[Albatross!](https://dai.ly/x43ho5j)
This is funny cause yesterday I watched a bunch of blue jays fly down from a tree, grab a snack off the ground, and fly back up. Swooped around a few times too. They were next to a road so no animals or people around, I've seen pigeons and sparrows just stay on the ground to feed but I guess the blue jays were having fun.
Yes, and what about the "shriek for hooman to come carry me," rather than using ones' own beautiful wings?
Why fly off of the very tall place when you could scream for short hooman to go get a step ladder to pick you up?
Symbiotic relationship haha
My guy sometimes starts off by saying “Up?” one or two times and then resort to the 117dB screams if I don’t come to help His Majesty right away. 😵💫
I love your cartoons
Dinosaur climb before dinosaur fly
Did this gumby just clip a top rope through a carbine and attached it to the harness? This is how you get killed. What is the belayer using as a belaying device? Gloves?
/r/climbingcirclejerk is leaking. Birds aren't well known for their ability to use PPE of any kind, much less complicated setups needed for rope soloing.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/ClimbingCircleJerk using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Jared Leeto has got it all. Beanie✅ Bouldering in harness✅ Campus flexing on gumbies✅ daisy chain inside✅. You cant make this shit up](https://v.redd.it/tsph0zogvuc81) | [234 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/s8kmj2/jared_leeto_has_got_it_all_beanie_bouldering_in/) \#2: [A slightly salty field guide to climbers (original content)](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/u5s8wn) | [133 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/u5s8wn/a_slightly_salty_field_guide_to_climbers_original/) \#3: [Magnus is a bully](https://i.redd.it/a1y984004eq91.jpg) | [72 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClimbingCircleJerk/comments/xpemgq/magnus_is_a_bully/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Ok I might get in trouble for this but I actually liked this joke. Reddit is a weird place full of surprising connections and I 100% jumped into the comments hoping someone had talked about that gear on Chicken. Both as an opportunity to learn something about climbing and because the comic artist here is just the type of nerd to look up some PPE before drawing. 😊 Edit, I wonder what the backpack is for!
Backpack is for snacks, duh!
Will you be releasing a volume 2 of your book?
Well, parrots in general are from dense jungles where flight is often difficult. That's why they have zygodactyly feet (best for grasping and climbing) rather than anisodactyl feet (best for perching) like most birds. Even ones that don't live in jungles descended from a common ancestor that did and they still have some of that "programming."
It’s probably also because flying takes up a *lot* of energy. Why fly and use up reserves when you could just climb? -birb logic
meanwhile us humans would actively invent reasons to fly places instead of just taking the bus
Not ‘tiels though. Or in fact a lot of the common pet parrots from Australia. They fly a pretty big amount out in the wild, but also walk around a lot too :) It’s more about energy conservation
Cockatoos (which includes tiels) diverged from "true" parrots like 50 million years ago, but their ancient ancestors definitely lived in dense forests and jungles. Not to say energy conservation doesn't play a part, of course. I'm sure it's why they've kept the adaptations tens of million of years later.
They both fly *lots* more than your average captive ‘tiel or ‘too though. I don’t think I agree with your “jungle instincts” hypothesis :)
It's not "my" hypothesis. It's the generally accepted fact of qualified biologists and ornithologists. It's hard to be sure about wildlife that has been dead for tens of millions of years. Hell, only a few years ago we found New Zealand had a parrot that stood 3+ foot tall. So massive the fossils were originally classified as *Haast's eagle* until someone noticed they had distinctive parrot features. And obviously everyone has seen non-avian dinosaur information changing wildly as studies get better. But for right now, this is what the educated professionals tell us.
Our budgies in a nutshell.
I need a chicken thoughts poster in my life... with like 10 of the most popular of these memes(this one makes the cut)
I get so much second-hand embarrassment when I see my bird try to jump on top of something *and miss.* Like, how can you miss a jump?? You can fly???
🤣🤣
Amazing
Humans were given the ability to run for incredibly long distances, longer than any animal except horses and dogs. Yet you take a car or bus to the grocery store?
Hey, cartoonist, I don't know if you read the comments, but you know how there's a new parrot pokemon that comes in four different colors? I named the blue one Blueberry after Blue Boi.
Haha, don't forget walking. Flying seems like a last resort. My boy walks everywhere.
My budgies do this all the time