Foot adaptation to climbing in ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Furnariida)

Furnariida (i.e. ovenbirds, woodcreepers and antbirds) cover diverse ecologies and locomotor habits, ranging from strictly terrestrial to climbing birds, with different degrees of acrobatic performances. We know that this variety of locomotor modes is linked to different limb morpho-functional adaptations in other climbing clades of birds, such as woodpeckers and nuthatches. Here, we link the morphological variations to ecological categories, such as different locomotor habits and a gradient of acrobatic performances, in a phylogenetically informed analysis. We used a high-density three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometric approach on foot bones (tarsometatarsus and all toes) of 55 specimens from 39 species of Furnariida. We found a significant correlation between acrobatic performances and foot bone shapes, partly explained by the phylogenetic relationship between species. Dendrocolaptidae show specific anatomical features, linked to their acrobatic locomotor habits. More specifically, we found that: (1) foot bones are more robust amongst climbing Furnariida, (2) the spread between toes is wider amongst highly acrobatic Furnariida, (3) dermal syndactyly between digits II and III is linked to special osteological features interpreted as functional osteological syndactyly in woodcreepers (tail-assisted climbers) and (4) the hallux claw is straighter than other claws in climbing Furnariida. Our study demonstrates that climbing Furnariida evolved common foot adaptations with subtle phenotypic variations depending on their climbing performances, refining our understanding of how evolution shapes interactions amongst structure, function and ecological traits.