Within the group of birds that use both methods, it would be interesting to know if the ratio of the method used differs among different species. One of the observation themes that I would like to tackle in the future is the walking ratio between jungle crows and carrion crows, as well as the large dusky thrushes. It may also be interesting to observe the way some of the rare birds walk. Swimming and diving The water is another place that birds spend time. Many water birds spend many hours swimming and diving in the water to get food.
Water birds paddle with their feet to move across the water.
Although this method for swimming involves water resistance and energy consumption, paddling is useful for moving for a short distance, going upstream and looking for food. There are many water birds that will completely submerge their bodies and dive into the water to catch food. Loons, cormorants, the ancient murrelet, grebes, sea ducks, the merganser species, and some birds within the petrel species swim in water. Ancient murrelets will use their wings when diving as if flying, and sea ducks both paddle and use their wings. In this issue we will discuss using binoculars, and give some pointers.