M. Verstappen et al., Terrestrial locomotion in the black-billed magpie: Kinematic analysis of walking, running and out-of-phase hopping, J EXP BIOL, 203(14), 2000, pp. 2159-2170
The inter-limb kinematic patterns of walking, running and out-of-phase hopp
ing in black-billed magpies (Pica pica) were studied using high-speed video
recordings. The flexion/extension patterns of the joints were similar betw
een the gait types, suggesting that the within-leg control of the angular e
xcursions is similar. This result is further supported by the fact that run
ning and hopping are alternative gaits at speeds higher than walking; howev
er, magpies show a preference For hopping. Moreover, only small differences
occur between the kinematic patterns of the two limbs during out-of-phase
hopping, during which the legs are believed to have different functions. Th
e hindlimb kinematic patterns of magpies are like those of other flying and
more terrestrial bird species; however, striking differences are found in
comparison with humans at the level of the internal angles. This is probabl
y due to the differences in the morphology and configuration of their legs.