Bird Feet Facts

By Richard Worden

bird feet facts
Feet are birds' great, unsung heroes. We notice the feathers first, then the span of the wings; maybe an avian has an interesting beak or a fun-shaped head. We seldom consider the useful limbs helping our feathered friend cling to a perch or grab a delicious mouse to eat.

Birds' feet serve many functions. Their physiognomy is very different from ours. Avians are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes instead of their full feet.

Let's take a look at some salient bird feet facts, including what they're made of, the different types of bird feet, and how our avian friends keep their toes warm in the winter.  

What Are Bird Feet Made of?

Bird feet are made of podotheca, a type of thick, featherless skin. This layer of the dermis is keratinized, making it thick and strong. Tough tendons and bones primarily inhibit that skin. This is important because it allows birds to land on cold, hot, or rough surfaces without feeling pain.

Most birds have four toes, three forward facing and one extending to the back. However, some birds have webbed feet, and others have talons.

Bird Feet Parts

Bird feet fused together over the years as avians evolved to fly and their legs and feet changed their purpose. 

• Tarsometatarsus: The tarsometatarsus is something like a long heel for birds. The bone is attached to the avian equivalent of the ankle joint. The tarsometatarsus is unique to birds. The bones merged distals and metatarsals II, III, and IV.
• Tibiotarsus: The tibiotarsus combines the upper bones of the feet, called proximal, with the tibia, or shin bones, and the cnemial crest. Flexor muscles run down the tibiotarsus. These muscles control the digits; when a bird needs to move a toe, the muscles on the tibiotarsus get to work. 
• Claws or Talons: A bird's claws are probably the creature's most powerful tool. These sharp protrusions at the end of their claws help avians hold onto perches and branches. They also defend against predators and help capture prey. All birds have these features. 
  
  

What Are Bird Feet Called?

Bird feet are simply called "bird feet." Their toes sometimes have different names; some birds have talons, and some have claws. The feet themselves, however, are simply feet. 

Types of Bird Feet and Their Functions

Birds rely on their feet for a broad range of functions and motions. Some avians count on the limbs to help them climb and hold onto branches. Aquatic birds use their feet as swimming aids. When it comes to bird feet facts two major factors define bird feet; toe formation and webbing. 

Toe Formation

Birds' feet have toe-like digits. Human toes are predictable; the formation is established and can be relied upon from foot to foot. Avian feet are more varied. While birds all have toes, where precisely those four toes sit depends on the bird. There are five avian digit arrangements: anisodactyl, zygodactyl, heterodactyl, syndactyly, and pamprodactyl.

Here's a great YouTube video that discusses
the different types of bird feet...

Anisodactyl

The vast majority of birds have anisodactyl feet. Three of the toes on anisodactyl feet face forward, while one reaches back. This design facilitates gripping, and birds use these feet to perch. 

Robins, Jays, and Chickadees all have anisodactyl feet, as do most birds who perch.

Zygodactyl

The zygodactyl toe arrangement is the second most common among avians. Zygodactyl birds have two forward-facing toes and two backward reachings. The second and third toes face forward while the first and fourth digits reach back. 

This toe arrangement helps grip branches and tree trunks. Zygodactyl digits also grab wriggling, active food well and hold it fast. Most birds with this toe arrangement can rotate their outer-back digits.

Some notable zygodactyl birds include:

• Woodpeckers
• Owls
• Ospreys
• Turacos

Heterodactyl

Heterodactyl toe arrangements are highly similar to zygodactyl feet. Like zygodactyl avians, heterodactyl birds have two toes on the front of the foot and two toes facing backward; which toe goes where is crisscrossed, however. 

The third and fourth toes of heterodactyl birds reach forward, while the first and second sprout backward. Heterodactyl feet are rare. Only a species of merely 46 birds have this toe arrangement.

Syndactyly

The syndactyly foot is similar to the anisodactyl toe arrangement. Like the latter, the former has the second, third, and fourth toes facing forward and the first shooting out to the back. However, the second and third toes-or the middle and outer digits-are connected for much of their length. 

Kingfishers, hornbills, and various other Coraciiformes all have syndactyly feet.

Pamprodactyl

The pamprodactyl foot is the most versatile. The second and third toes always face forward. 

The first and fourth, or outer toes, can move freely between the front and back of the foot. This toe arrangement helps birds effectively hang from branches. Swifts and mousebirds are both pamprodactyl-footed. 

Webbed Feet

Swimming birds, like ducks and geese, have webbed feet. Webbing is a thin membrane stretched between the toes to aid in swimming and waddling across uneven, muddy terrain. 

Webbed feet seem straightforward, but birds like to keep us on our toes. The adaptation takes four formations: palmate, totipalmate, semipalmate, and lobate. 

Palmate

Palmate webbing occurs on feet with three forward-facing toes and one exterior digit. The membrane stretches between the second and third toes and then between the third and fourth toes, creating two webbed sections. 

Birds with palmate webbing include:

• Ducks
• Geese
• Swans
• Gulls
• Terns
• Flamingos
• Fulmars
• Loons
• Shearwaters

Totipalmate

Webbing connects all four toes on the totipalmate-footed birds. The foot has three membrane sections connecting: the second and third toes, the third and fourth toes, and the fourth and first toes. 

Some totipalmate web-footed birds are:

• Gannets
• Boobies
• Pelicans
• Cormorants

Totipalmate feet aren't just for function; often, these webbed paws display bright, beautiful colors.

Semipalmate

Semipalmate webbing is, basically, the miniature version of palmate webbing. Like palmate feet, the front three semipalmate toes are connected by two membrane segments. However, palmate membranes stretch between the tips of the toes, providing a wide expanse of web. Semipalmate membranes start about halfway back the toes, making a much smaller web surface. 

Semipalmate birds include:

• Sandpipers
• Avocet
• Herons
• Grouse

Certain domesticated chickens are also semipalmate, but the breed doesn't comprehensively share that webbing. 

Lobate

Lobate webbing provides each of the front three toes with their own little webbing wings. Once the membrane hits the water, the webbing contracts and expands to help the birds swim. 

Birds with lobate webbing include:

• Grebes
• Coots
• Phalaropes
• Finfoots 
  
  

Do Birds Feet Get Cold or Freeze?

Birds are barefoot all year long, which raises the question; don't those little toes get cold?

Bird feet can get cold and even freeze. Luckily, avians have developed excellent natural mechanisms that help them get through the colder seasons. Moreover, bird feet require minimal blood to function and have few to no pain receptors, which prevents birds from feeling the cold's bite too much.

Bird lovers may also worry their avian friends' feet will freeze to perches or fences in extreme cold. Don't fret; bird feet have no sweat glands. The appendages stay dry all winter long, creating no perspiration to freeze fast. 

How Do Birds Keep Their Feet Warm?

Birds keep their feet warm through a few mechanisms developed thanks to evolution. For example, birds' arteries retreat further into their bodies in the winter to compensate for the cold. If all else fails, they tuck their feet under their bodies. 

Their body heat keeps their toes toasty in sub-freezing temperatures. 

Some birds fluff their feathers to capture warmth near their bodies and limbs. Others try to stay close together in order to generate as much heat as possible.

Bird Feet Facts...Final Thoughts

Bird feet aren't glamorous or beautiful, but they are highly useful. Avians have evolved their toes over the years for a variety of purposes. The appendages are functional and far more varied and interesting than they seem at first glance. 

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Hi! I'm Richard Worden, the author and founder of We Know Birds.

Over 20 years ago I developed a keen interest in birds and birdwatching, and it has been my passion ever since. I am committed to spreading useful knowledge about birds to others so we might all enjoy them to the fullest.

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