Fig. 4: Variation in foot use among parrots shows several instances of convergent evolution. | Communications Biology

Fig. 4: Variation in foot use among parrots shows several instances of convergent evolution.

From: Online repositories of photographs and videos provide insights into the evolution of skilled hindlimb movements in birds

Fig. 4

a Examples of foot use among the main clades of parrots. From top to bottom: New Zealand Kaka (Nestor meridionalis), Red-masked Parakeet (Psittacara erythrogenys), Brown-headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus), Turquoise-fronted Parrot (Amazona aestiva), Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea), Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameria). Photographer credits are listed in Supplementary Table 6. b Ancestral state reconstruction of foot use in parrots shows that foot use is the ancestral state for all parrots, but this behavior has been lost at least five times. The ancestral state reconstruction also shows that an outward rotation of the foot when bringing the foot to the beak has evolved independently at least twice (dark red). c Genus level phylogeny of parrot shows in detail where foot use has been lost and where differences in foot use have emerged. Colored squares reflect the presence of each of five different behavioral elements.

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