I noticed that flying birds feed their chicks like pigeons and hawks. And birds that don’t fly don’t feed their chicks like chicken and Ducks.
Anyone knows the reason for that?
In: Biology
Most flying birds build nests which are not located near any food source. Non-flying birds, ground nesters, typically have chicks which can walk and find nearby sources of food without the need for mom or dad bringing it to them.
Chicks can’t fly. So if the species gets food by flying, their babies will need food provided for them until they learn to fly and get their own food. If the species can get food without flying, the babies can follow adults and eat what they eat.
The distinction isn’t exactly between “flying” and “non-flying” birds; it’s between birds that keep their chicks in a nest up high for a long time, and birds that don’t.
Ducks, for example, can fly just fine, but (most at least) don’t keep their chicks in a high nest.
Birds that keep their chicks in a high nest must obviously bring the food to those chicks, because there isn’t any food up there. Birds that take their chicks around on the ground can let the chicks eat what they find.
It has to do with how developed the bird is when it hatches. Precocial birds (i.e. ducks) are able to feed themselves as soon as they hatch, the parents stick around for protection. Altricial birds (i.e. American Robins) are hatches featherless and blind, so they’re basically helpless and depending on their parents for everything from food to protection.
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