/ Rehabber's Den | Presence of a wing claw in White-breasted waterhen young

Presence of a wing claw in White-breasted waterhen young



Devna Arora


Devna Arora - White-breasted waterhen hatchling

Wing claws are present in several species of birds that give birth to precocial young, esp. ratites. The claws help the chicks to grasp and get support from vegetation while scampering behind their parents.

This is a short note to document the presence of wing claws in the downy young of White-breasted waterhens (Amaurornis phoenicurus).

Devna Arora - Wing Claws in White-breasted waterhen young

Devna Arora - Wing Claws in White-breasted waterhen young

Devna Arora - Wing Claws in White-breasted waterhen young

Devna Arora - Wing Claws in White-breasted waterhen young

Acknowledgements

Thank you, Tatiana Petrova, for helpful information on wing claws. I really appreciate it.

References

BBC Four (No date) The Life of Birds: Clawed Wings. Available from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bm2c7 [Accessed: 25th Aug 2015]

Fisher, H.I. (no date) The occurrence of vestigial claws on the wings of birds. Available from:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2485270?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

Naish, D. (2010) Clubs, spurs, spikes and claws on the hands of birds (Part 1). Available from:
http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/06/30/clubs-spurs-spikes-and-claws/ [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

Naish, D. (2014) Ratites in trees. Available from:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/ratites-in-trees-the-evolution-of-ostriches-and-kin-and-the-repeated-evolution-of-flightlessness-ratite-evolution-part-ii/ [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

Nelson, L.A. (no date) Emu mimics. Available from:
http://www.locolobo.org/Dromiceiomimus.html [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

Sepetjian, R.K. (2011) Are dinosaurs alive today as birds? Available from:
https://sepetjian.wordpress.com/tag/clawed-wings/ [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (no date) Quiz. Available from:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/homestudy/quiz/quiz-question-1 [Accessed: 19th Aug 2015]

Unknown (no date) Amaurornis. Available from:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/bio-sci/biodiversity-lab/pdfs/Amaurornis.pdf [Accessed: 18th Aug 2015]


Short Note published in 2015.