Are Pukeko's left footed?

General birdwatching discussion, help with bird identification, and all other things relating to wild birds and birding in NZ that don't fit in one of the other forums.
User avatar
ledzep
Posts: 842
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:30 pm
Location: Wellington
Contact:

Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby ledzep » Tue Aug 30, 2022 7:10 pm

A friend sent me this, an article suggesting that some or all Pukeko's may be left-footed. Interesting question, not sure if it warrants serious research but interested if this has been noted elsewhere or with other bird species.
Pukeko left footed.jpg
Pukeko left footed.jpg (525.54 KiB) Viewed 1478 times
Raewyn
Posts: 127
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:38 pm
Location: Te Puke
Contact:

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby Raewyn » Tue Aug 30, 2022 9:23 pm

That's an interesting question. I just buzzed through the thumbnails in my Pukeko photo folder and, counting which foot was holding food (trying to avoid counting the same bird twice), the right foot got to 10 while the left foot was on 8. Very unscientific, but at least shows use of both legs.

It would be interesting to watch individuals and see if each bird uses both feet, or favours one over the other.
Jan
Posts: 1871
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 am
Location: Christchurch

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby Jan » Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:20 am

I reckon most animals have a handedness feature. Dogs certainly do. Our current one is righthanded and prefers turning round one way, whereas the previous model prefered the other way. Thus this 32kg huntaway sits on my lap, while the smaller 22kg staffie sat the other way round, on the husby. Groan.
User avatar
ledzep
Posts: 842
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:30 pm
Location: Wellington
Contact:

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby ledzep » Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:29 am

So the question is it hardwired per species, or like humans, varies by individual. I would suspect the latter. Could be an inherited preference or could be learned behaviour. From an evolutionary perspective I would theorise that a species being hardwired in some way would impose a constraint that would eventually be detrimental and selected against, ie having both left-handed and right-handed individuals would be better for the long-term survival of the species.
Raewyn
Posts: 127
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:38 pm
Location: Te Puke
Contact:

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby Raewyn » Wed Aug 31, 2022 4:58 pm

I love your notes Jan. Our* cat is right handed. We have a game where he hooks treats out of the open jar and no matter how we hold it he always uses his right paw. He also gets into fights with other cats, the main one being a specific grey cat. The worst scratches are always on the right side of his face so we assume that that cat is left handed.

*"Our" is not quite accurate. He's neutered and chipped with an owner 2 doors away but thinks he owns us and most of the rest of the neighbourhood too. He's here a lot and we love him, but he does go home for meals.

Ledzep, that's interesting. Totally coincidentally I'm reading a Scientific American magazine from February and there's an article about Neandertal man that says "Handedness reflects the fact that the two hemispheres of the brain are asymmetrical, with each side specialized for different tasks. This brain lateralization, as it is termed, is associated with language capacity. Other primates exhibit varying degrees of lateralization, but only humans show such a high frequency of right-handedness" (see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rockshelter-discoveries-show-neandertals-were-a-lot-like-us).

So maybe animals (including birds) are random in their "handedness". It's certainly something that would be interesting to watch out for out in the field.
Ian Williams
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:33 pm

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby Ian Williams » Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:39 pm

I noticed that red tailed black cockatoos always use their left foot when I was over in Cairns earlier this year. Sure enough this had been noted previously and is mentioned in Wikipedia
" Black cockatoos are almost exclusively left-footed (along with nearly all other cockatoos and most parrots).[39]"
IMG_8085.jpeg
Red tailed Black cockatoos
IMG_8085.jpeg (435.25 KiB) Viewed 1091 times
User avatar
ledzep
Posts: 842
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:30 pm
Location: Wellington
Contact:

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby ledzep » Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:23 am

That is interesting about the Cockatoo's. I must look more closely on what Kaka do in Zealandia. Do they always use their left foot?
ZionCooper
Posts: 71
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby ZionCooper » Wed Oct 05, 2022 4:10 pm

Here is a photo of Kaka from Zealandia. This bird used it’s left foot to eat.
4E34E9B0-4C72-4E80-9AE1-75F6FE9DE5A3.jpeg
4E34E9B0-4C72-4E80-9AE1-75F6FE9DE5A3.jpeg (749.36 KiB) Viewed 1030 times
User avatar
Cardinal15
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:23 pm

Re: Are Pukeko's left footed?

Postby Cardinal15 » Fri Oct 14, 2022 2:42 pm

Here is a kaka from Pukaha Mt. Bruce. Also left footed.
Pukaha Mt. Bruce5.JPG
Pukaha Mt. Bruce5.JPG (521.25 KiB) Viewed 894 times

Return to “General Birding Discussion”