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BIRD TRACKS Woodsmoke Photography by Peter Skillen Peter by Photography GETTING STARTED WITH TRACKING By Ben McNutt BIRD TRACKS Woodsmoke READ BEN’S FULL BIO NOW AT THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM www.woodsmoke.uk.com 00 | THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM he easiest way to get to grips with bird tracks is to learn about the feet that make them and the fascinating diversity in their skeletal structures and morphology. It is said that ‘form follows function’ and bird foot morphology is no exception, as the structure relates directly to lifestyle demands of the bird. Types of bird tracks Most of the bird tracks you will encounter will be Tetradactyl, meaning they have four digits on each foot. The etymological root of the word 1. Anisodactyl coming from the Greek word ‘tetra’, meaning ‘four’ and the word ‘dactyl’ 2. Raptorial meaning ‘fnger’ or ‘digit’. 3. Syndactyl 4. Tridactyl For simplicity trackers number the toes on each foot and as with 5. Palmate mammals, ‘toe one’ is the big toe / thumb (or hallux). For most birds the 6. Semi-palmate hallux is like an opposable thumb and points backwards, which allows 7. Totipalmate the bird to perch and grip branches. The toes are then subsequently 8. Zygodactyl numbered from inside to outside, so the thumb is ‘toe one’, index-fnger 9. Lobate is ‘toe two’, long-fnger is ‘toe three’ and ring-fnger is ‘toe four’ – the little 10. Heterodactyl fnger is no longer there and has evolved away entirely. 11. Pamprodactyl 12. Didactyl Photography by Ben McNutt by Photography Anisodactyl Tracks ‘Aniso’ - meaning ‘unequal’. ‘Common things occur commonly’. So lets begin with the most common track you will encounter, sometimes called the Classic Bird track, which is left by a foot that has three toes pointing forwards and one toe pointing backwards. This group includes all of the passerines (perching song birds) with their strong fexible toes, the doves and pigeons, the crows, and some of the waders like herons and egrets. We can tell this is a right foot as ‘toe one’ is of-set to the inside. Raptorial Tracks Technically an Anisodactyl track, I have separated the raptors due to their unique talons. The raptors are the birds of prey and include the falcons, hawks, hobbies, harriers and eagles. The feet have powerful, highly separated toes for gripping prey. These strong toes are covered with rough scaly pads for extra grip and are equipped with curving talons for securing prey and ripping fesh. THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM | 00 Syndactyl Tracks ‘Syn’ - meaning ‘same’. Very closely related to the Ansiodactyl feet, but birds with a Syndactyl foot structure have ‘toe two’ and ‘toe three’ partially fused together for some of their length. Kingfshers are the only UK birds in this group, which have fused toes to create strong, miniature shovels for excavating nest tunnels. Tridactyl Tracks ‘Tri’- meaning ‘three’. Sometimes called the Game Bird track, this foot leaves a track with three toes pointing forward, where ‘toe one’ is completely absent or greatly reduced, usually just a claw mark. The classic game birds all leave this type of track, such as the pheasant, grouse, ptarmigan and quail. Some waders also have this foot structure, such as the plovers, cranes, rails and pipers. What all these birds have in common is that they spend lots of time walking, which has lead to the reduction of ‘toe one’ as it evolves up the leg, losing contact with the ground, this can frequently be seen with the waders, which rarely leave a ‘toe one’ impression. Blunt, thick claws designed for scratching. Palmate Tracks Technically a member of the Tridactyl group, I’m giving the webbed and lobed feet their own sections for the sake of simplicity and clarity. The word ‘palmate’ originates from the Latin word ‘palmatus’, meaning ‘shaped like an open palm’. True palmate tracks have full webbing between toes two and four, with a non-existent or reduced hallux free of webbing. Species with bare legs can regulate their temperature and conserve energy, by cutting of the blood supply in the lower leg just above their big radiator-like webbed feet and recycle the blood back up the leg before it can cool. These tracks are commonly left by the gull, goose, swan and duck species, which use their feet as paddles in water. ‘Toe one’ on a gull is just a tiny bump, like a comma, barely evident in this photo. Photography by Ben McNutt by Photography THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM | 00 Semi-Palmate Tracks Essentially the same as Palmate, except with partial webbing. A good example of this track is the Curlew, which uses its partial webbing as a foat whilst exploring mud fats. Curlew Track. Note the webbing between toes three and four, indicating that it is a right foot. Totipalmate Tracks From the Latin word ‘tōtus’, meaning ‘entire’ or ‘total’, this track is left by species whose feet have webbing between all toes, and rather unusually where ‘toe four’ is the longest toe. There are only a few UK species with this foot structure; they are the Gannet, the Cormorants and the Shags. Cormorant Tracks. Ben McNutt by Photography Lobate Tracks These feet are not webbed, but instead have wide lobes along the toes. Birds with this characteristic are found amongst the Grebes and Coots, which equally divide their time in and out of the water, so they are reasonably suited to both walking on mud and swimming. THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM | 00 Zygodactyl Tracks ‘Zygo’ - meaning ‘pair’ from the Ancient Greek word ‘zugón’, which means a ‘yoke’. Zygodactyl tracks have a pair of ‘yoked’ toes facing forward (toes two and three) and a pair of toes point backwards (toes one and four). These feet are excellent at grasping and are found is species that need a really good grip. Birds such as the Osprey which swoop down to clutch slippery fsh (they also have spines on the pads of their soles), Owls who hunt small prey at night (they can also turn ‘toe four’ forwards or backwards), Woodpeckers who need a good grip on vertical surfaces (before they start head-banging), and the acrobatic antics of Parrots and Cuckoos (who are masters of exploring thick foliage for food and surrogate nests). Interestingly the tracks of Tawny Owl Tracks. Please excuse the poor quality of this owls tend to look like ‘outward facing K’s’, photo, these tracks are incredibly rare to fnd, as such it was taken on a phone camera in poor light. where as the tracks of a woodpecker form an Note the outward facing K’s. ‘inward facing K’. Photography by Ben McNutt by Photography Heterodactyl Tracks These are very like the zygodactyl feet, except they are ‘Hetero’ - meaning ‘diferent’, with ‘toe three’ and ‘toe four’ that face forward and ‘toe one’ and ‘toe two’ that reach backwards. There are no species in the UK with this foot structure, it is only found in the Trogon species in the tropics. Pamprodactyl Tracks From the Greek words ‘Pan’ - meaning ‘all’, and the prefx ‘Pró’ - meaning ‘forward’, is where all four toes reach forward. This is only found in one UK species, the Swift, which very rarely lands and when it does, uses all four hook-like toes to hang onto vertical surfaces while they build nests. THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM | 00 Didactyl Tracks The fnal type of track is not one you will fnd in the UK, as the Didactyl is from the Greek word Di, meaning ‘two’, indicating that this track only has two toes on each foot. The only bird to have this foot structure is the fightless Ostrich. READ BEN’S FULL BIO NOW AT Ben McNutt THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM Woodsmoke www.woodsmoke.uk.com Photography by Peter Skillen & Ben McNutt Peter by Photography THEBUSHCRAFTJOURNAL.COM | 00.
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