Why do some birds hop and others walk?

[dryker_hanover.com]

Dear Cecil,

Why do the smaller birds (up to sparrow-sized) hop pretty much exclusively to get around while afoot, while slightly larger birds (robins, black birds, etc.) hop and walk in seemingly equal amounts, while slightly (and not so slightly) larger birds (pigeons, doves, owls, kiwis, chickens, ducks, turkeys, ostriches, moas, etc) almost exclusively walk without much hopping? It is clear the wading birds with long legs should walk exclusively while afoot because the long strides are more efficient than hopping, but the most of the birds mentioned have relatively short legs in proportion to their bodies, so one might think a single means of locomotion while afoot would serve them all equally well.

Your answer likely will clear up something that has been bothering mankind for eons.

Dave Ryker
Carmel, IN

[Johnny_L.A]

Smaller birds that spend a lot of time in trees tend to have short legs, as you noted. These birds can move farther for each hop than they can for each step, so it’s more efficient to hop.

[Annie-Xmas]

Why do birds walk and hop?

[the_O]

Some birds have rhythm.

[Colibri]

From here:

… many birds walk or run using the alternating strides typical of most bipeds. Others, particularly small, arboreally inclined species, commonly hop. It is uncertain why hopping is more common in smaller birds. The evidence seems to point to economy of effort: short-legged birds move farther in a single hop than they do taking several steps, whereas it is more economical for larger birds, with longer strides, to move one leg at a time.

Although birds of the same taxonomic groups frequently share a common pattern of locomotion on the ground, the patterns often have exceptions. Most passerines hop, but others, such as larks, pipits, starlings, and meadowlarks, typically stride. Within the family Corvidae, jays hop whereas crows stride. Diverse species, including robins, ravens, and blackbirds, both hop and stride. Whether a physically unconstrained bird hops or strides is not just a question of anatomy; speed also affects choice of locomotion – a hopper in a hurry tends to break into a run.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Colibri

Within the family Corvidae, jays hop whereas crows stride.

Huh. I had no idea jays and crows were related.