Why do birds bob their heads when they walk?

[@SeveralAnts]

Because they vibin

[@holocoffin]

I could watch birds all day. Sometimes I think I should have become a biologist.

[@kinnikuzero]

Me too but it's too late😮‍💨

[@Omnihilo]

​@@kinnikuzero Why?

[@kinnikuzero]

@@Omnihilo already knees deep in another major, close to graduation even though I got stuck for 8 years 😂

[@Omnihilo]

@@kinnikuzero Oh… damn. I mean, I guess you could get another major eventually? Lots of people do. But honestly I have no idea how any of that works lol.

[@kinnikuzero]

@@Omnihilo yeah I'm not sure either, at this point I just want to get done with attending college and just get over with and settle in. It might not even be a choice to have another major in my case because it's a public university, and I'm not ready for 4 more years of studying 😂. But I guess it's a lesson learned for the next generation, follow your 'reasonable' desires.

[@LibbysBackyardWildlifeHabitat]

Interesting commentary! Birds bring so much joy.

[@jimroberts3009]

Dinosaurs do the strangest things! 😊

[@xochilguevara3429]

😮 I’ve wondered this all my life. I didn’t think I’d ever really know!

[@fasx56]

Interesting commentary. Most of us see Birds doing this novel Body movement and see it as nature in action. Glad some researches did their work and studied head bobs carefully, appreciated the information.

[@kathyschreiner4852]

Thanks for making this! It’s one of many questions I have about the world around us, and you answered it clearly and concisely.

[@bluesdragon42]

It's that hippie bounce! 😂

[@camo2156]

This is the best explanation ive seen of this!!

[@CalvinWiersum]

You can tell by the way I bob my head; I’m a city bird, tryna’ eat some bread

[@battery_wattage]

The American Woodcock takes this multiple bobs forward for the best groves.

[@peabrain6872]

Its because theyre just silly little guys

[@libbyd1001]

I think some of it has to do with gaining forward momentum. Walking in bipedal animals is like constantly 'falling forward' but your legs move to catch up and you propel forward instead of falling. Birds are much smaller with 'squatter' bodies, so instead of leaning forward, they thrust the mass of their head forward and as the center of gravity moves forward, they step forward to keep up. Those birds on the beach who also walk but do not bob heads, they look like they do actually lean forward into the direction of travel, again, putting their center of gravity forward and walking to continuously 'fall forward' and walk. Just my observational stab at the concept.

[@lindathewordlady3204]

Love this channel. So glad I found it. Amazing!

[@nethoncho]

Birds also use head bobbing to use the parralax for depth preception

[@wordreet]

Yep, not only can they not move their eyes, but the also know just how seriously stylish it looks! 😎

[@chekote]

That’s pretty much what I expected. But I am curious why some birds don’t do it when walking 🤔

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

That's pretty* much ...

[@chekote]

@ thx! Swipey typey isn’t so great for accuracy

[@mihaleben6051]

Balancing

[@MichaelDavis-zu2ko]

Seems like an inefficient way to operate compared to just moving the eyes. My question would be what is it about birds in particular that makes limited eye movement beneficial/necessary. Edit: It seems that their limited eye movement is a result of the extremely large size of their eyes compared to their skulls. Birds have very large eyes because they need a wide field of view due to their agile nature, but they're also often very far away from the things that they're interested in looking at. Thus, they need to be able to see all around them all of the time, but also need a high resolution.

[@cooldude6269]

Birds have a scleral ring, it’s a weird bone inside of the eye that restricts how much the eye can movs

[@pawoo666]

would a blind pigeon not bob its head?

[@punkdigerati]

Retina process the image?

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

Retina processing* ...

[@Velereonics]

ok well if they move their head before taking a step, then they ARE bobbing their head with every step, it's just syncopated

[@WolfieD-yp5ez]

Can you believe it? All those birds were once "Dinosaurs"! 🥰

[@fabricreative1930]

They still are dinosaurs phylogenetically speaking 🦖🦅

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

Bird have always been birds but they're the only surviving kind of dinosaurs.