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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 25th May 2010
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New Findings About Bird Movement
RVC research has discovered that birds use a 'hybrid' gait at intermediate speeds.
Research at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has discovered that birds use a third ‘hybrid’ gait at intermediate speeds, going against the mechanics of walking and running understood by many.

Humans walk with relatively stiff limbs, ‘vaulting’ over a leg each step and run with more compliant legs with a flight phase between each stance. However, these new findings indicate that there is a gait totally unfamiliar to normal humans, which involves achieving both walking-like vaulting and running-like ballistic mechanics during the hybrid gait.

The RVC’s Structure and Motion Laboratory team discovered that guinea fowl and pheasants never quite take off during the ballistic phase. Researcher Dr. Jim Usherwood refers to this hybrid gait as ‘Grounded Inverted Pendular Running’ or the GIPR gait, for short.

“The ‘GIPR’ involves both relatively stiff-limbed walking-like vaulting over midstance, and near-ballistic running-like phases between stances,” explains Usherwood. “This discovery supports the previous idealised models of walking and running which demonstrate that, energetically, walking should be favoured up to, and even somewhat over, those speeds and step lengths that can be achieved while retaining the stance leg under compression.”

Recently, numerical energetic optimisations of reductionist models have considered a huge range of potential bipedal gaits, and demonstrated that walking and running, and this third, strange, hybrid gait should be favoured at certain speeds and step lengths.

The hybrid gait supports the notion that many aspects of gait mechanics can be understood without requiring detailed musculoskeletal models or a presumption of spring-like leg properties.
To test these predictions, the centre-of-mass velocities of four guinea fowl and three pheasants (during locomotion and at a range of speeds) were calculated from integrating acceleration data derived from force plate measurements by the RVC.

“This new gait supports the notion that many aspects of gait mechanics can be understood without the need for detailed musculoskeletal models or a presumption of spring-like leg properties. It also raises the possibility that hybrid or unconventional gaits might be valuable in improving the efficiency of bipedal robots,” concludes Usherwood.

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

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News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.