I've always wondered why birds bobbed their heads when they walked. Like, is it reflexive? For balance? Are their legs hydraulically connected to their necks? Either way:
DocAquatic said: I've always wondered why birds bobbed their heads when they walked. Like, is it reflexive? For balance? Are their legs hydraulically connected to their necks?
I believe it is to help their vision. If their heads moved along with their bodies, their vision would be blurred from movement for that time, and they'd be more susceptible to predators. This way, jolting their head out rapidly and then holding it steady while their body catches up, there is much more time for their head to be stable so that they can see everything clearly.
It might also be for depth perception.. since pigeons' eyes are set on opposite sides of their head, their depth perception sucks (like when you close one eye). Bobbing their head would give them two slightly different perspectives to view from, getting better depth perception, like we do with our two eyes.
I don't think anyone's studied for an absolute conclusion, but those seem likely.