1)Why does a chicken have short,sharp claws? 2)Why does an eagle have long,sharp claws?

Question

Please help me...

Answer 1

This goes again to the issue of form follows function. The chicken spends large amounts of time on the ground - it's feet are designed mainly for walking and scratching the ground.  The eagle spends most time in the trees and uses it's talons to kill prey and carry it. If they had chicken feet, they would have a hard time killing prey and they would have no chance of carrying it in flight. If a chicken had talons like an eagle, the nails would be worn down by walking around on the ground (not to mention, getting in the way).  Chicken feet are make for walking, eagle feet are made for killing and clinging.

Answer 2

Eagles use their talons for hunting.  They need to be large and powerful to catch and kill prey.  Chickens are primarily ground birds that use their talons to scratch around the ground for bugs and seeds.  Large talons would actually be a hindrance to the chicken lifestyle so smaller claws evolved to suit the bird.  Also, all ground birds wear their claws down even more from walking on them.

Answer 3

Since both the chicken and eagle are of the class aves which share archeopteryx (a clawed-winged, feathered dinosaur) as a common ancestor, they both posses the ancestral trait of possessing claws; however, their claws differ in functionality which will alter their shape.

Natural selection would select for the eagles with larger claws to have more reproductive success than eagles with smaller claws since eagles use their claws to catch and hold prey. The selective pressure for larger claws is not present with chickens because they do not use them to capture prey and they are not perchers; therefore, a chicken will have, on average, small claws.