The Evolution of Birds Thousands of different types of birds roam the Earth as we know it today, so let’s begin consider the origin of these beings. How had these creatures come to be? What was their original form? The evolution of birds has only recently begun to explode with new information within the last decade (Savile, 1957, p. 212). Birds are unique creatures and inhabit a wide variety of locations, but constant among them is the fact that they came from Archaeopteryx. Over time, three key changes have developed with the bird’s anatomy that makes it a paradigm of evolution. Today, the wing is among the most essential aspects of a bird. Therefore, understanding the morphology of how these wings evolved into flight plays a critical role …show more content…
Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, at the University of Chicago in Illinois, and Arhat Abzhanov at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts were among those scientists to study this. They found that there are two proteins, FGF and Wnt, that may play a role in the development of the beak. By inserting these genetic proteins into that of the chicken embryos, the physical features would resemble that of reptiles and other species. They found that the premaxillae were shorter in some and longer in others. With these genes, x-rays showed that the embryonic sculls more closely resembled that of early ancestral birds. In this instance, scientists were trying to simulate devolution in this species of birds to aid in the understanding the adaptation of them …show more content…
Through time, there has been a significant decrease in the number of bones through fusion, or loss of individual bones (“Evolution of Birds”). The loss in these bones result in a “hollow construction of the skeleton,” as well as a reduction in the availability movable joints. Though this seems like it should not benefit the bird, it is actually better adapted as a framework of a “flying machine.” The clavicle of birds is used and near it is a keeled sternum that the flight muscles attach to. The skull of a bird is lightweight and mostly composed of the protein keratin. Without teeth present, the jaw has also become light weight, all aiding in its ability to achieve the best possible flight. The changing in structure of the physical bird and functions of each their bones have aided in their diversification and ability to thrive as the modern bird that we know
The pectoral girdle is made up of the sternum, clavicle, coracoid and scapula. The clavicles come together to form the furcula, or "wishbone". The furcula provides a flexible attachment site for the breast muscles and along with the coracoids act as struts that resist pressure created by the wing stroke during flight. There is an extensive fusion of bones of the pelvic region to provide stiff support for the legs in order to deal with the stress of take-off and landing.
The “Little Bird” by Imogen Heap, represents the human effort to hide ugliness. Humans are attracted to beautiful things, yet they themselves are not. Humans are naturally bitter and are without morals; it is society that puts us into place. So human effort is focused on fixing themselves and their surroundings. The little bird symbolizes a metaphysical being that humanity looks towards for help.
For this evolution project, I choose to research Penguins. The classification for this animal is as follows: K Neornithes, P Palaeognathae, C Neognathae, O Pelecaniformes, F Procellariformes, G Graviidae, S Spheniscidae. The first fossil penguin that was found, is today being held in the British Museum of Natural History. It was reportedly found by an anonymous Maori in New Zealand in 1859 and was named Palaeeudyptes Antarcticus despite the fact that the species was located far away from Antarctica. Since that discovery many more fossils were found and were dated back to the Miocene era and three others from the Pliocene era. Several fossils were dated to the Late Pliocene era and others from the Recent era. The earliest avian fossil found in the southern hemisphere is said to have existed in the Eocene age about 38-54 million years ago. There is evidence that at least three of the modern penguins (Aptenodytes, Spheniscus and Pygoscelis) went extinct within the last 4-5 million years. The remainder of the penguins are from 5-40 million years ago, dating back to the time currently recorded, when penguins evolved from other modern birds. Research suggests that the tallest of these penguins were about 6 feet tall. Penguins did originate from an ancestor that flew some 40 million years ago. The common ancestor is assumed to have been somewhat similar to a modern-day diving petrel or auk in appearance and behavior.
Before the announcement of Longisquama, the earliest known animal with feathers was Archaeopteryx, a bird capable of flight that lived roughly 145 million years ago.1 It has been proposed that Archaeopteryx is the intermediary between birds and predatory theropods, such as Deinonychus.2 The discovery that Longisquama had feathers strongly questions the evolutionary origins of Archaeopteryx, and additionally may discredit the belief that it is the link between birds and dinosaurs.
Jonathan Weiner, The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time. New York:
Thanks to evolution, Penguins have evolved into a group of aquatic, fightless birds, that are highly adapted to life in the ocean. This not only makes them one of the divergent and strange species of birds, but also has allowed them to become such a sucessful species. Penguins are mostly located in the Southern hemisphere ranging anywhere from the Galapogos to the Antartic. Throughout their lives, Penguins spend around half their time in the ocean doing things such as catching food and the other half on land raising their young. Their distinct tuxedo-like apperience called countershading camoflages their bodies, protecting them from predators above and below. Through out the “stepping stones”, the penguins grew to have a dense bone containing
Birds are some of the most accomplished living organisms to take to the sky that the world has ever seen. Flight has allowed birds to colonize virtually the entire globe, allowing them to dominate the skies. Flying is quite an energetic task, so birds have to eat almost continuously to gain the needed energy tbo fly. When traveling by air, it is important to keep your weight to a minimum. Weight reduction has led to various adaptations that have allowed birds to take flight like “honeycombed” bones and a light and efficient beak. Flight gave rise to a new form of locomotion and birds quickly colonized the entire globe.
John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds” expresses the varying emotions the narrator experiences as he witnesses certain events from nature. His narration of the birds throughout the poem acts as numerous forms of imagery and symbolism concerning him and his life, and this becomes a recollection of the varying emotional stances he comes to terms with that he has experienced in his life. These changes are so gradually and powerfully expressed because of a fluent use of diction and figurative language, specifically symbolism and simile, and aided by organization.
Fossil evidence suggests that the Cathartid (New World) vultures have been around for quite some time with two fossil species dated from the early Oligocene (about 35 million years ago). During the Pliocene and Pleistocene (about 2 million years ago) th...
Bones are the major supporting facts which prove that birds are dinosaurs. Wishbones and swiveling wristbones are common bones shared between birds and dinosaurs. The discovery of dinosaur bones tells paleontologists what type of dinosaur it is. The arrangement of the bones also hints towards activities the dinosaur may have participated in. Chinese and American paleontologists located a dinosaur that was situated in a curled up position, similar to a sleeping duck’s pose. Mark Norell, Chairman of the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, states, “Not only are troodontids, [cousins of the tyrannosaurs], very closely related to birds, but this particular one is in a stereotypical resting pose of birds” (Lemmonick par. 7). This dinosaur was discovered perched on its back legs, forelimbs at its side, head buried under its left el...
Podulka, Sandy, Ronald W. Rohrbaugh, and Rick Bonney. "Chapter 4 - What's Inside: Anatomy and Physiology." Handbook of bird biology. 2nd ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Lab of Ornithology in association with Princeton University Press, 2004. 4.3 4.76 4.160-161. Print.
Obviously birds have brains but that doesn't mean they can think the way we do. After all, their heads are about as big as my fist. This means they don't just sit at a table and have cookies and tea and discuss their flight plan with each other. According to the passage " How One Bird Makes the Trip " these birds basically " make up their flight plan as they go ". They basically just wing it until they can figure it out as they fly.
79- 80). The structure of the feet, moreover, “distribute the weight of a Canada goose and prevent it from sinking” when it is standing on marshy or soft land (Herrmann, 2016, p. 80). Finally, “the webbing between the three front toes of a Canada goose” improve its ability to move effectively through water (Herrmann, 2016, p. 78). Consequently, the evolutionary efficacy of the webbed feet adaptation is clear, as it improves on the goose’s ability to survive while it is in the air, on land, and on water. Like their eyelid structure, this would be considered a morphological trait, for its correlation between the bird’s anatomy and its
The first observations relate to appearance, attitude, and locomotion (Linares and Martin, 2010). These authors mention that, while active, healthy poultry stand holding their head high, wings folded close to their body, and legs extended directly under their body. Bracke and Hopster (2006), mentioned that some species-unspecific behaviors are very beneficial to health, performed by several species, such as playing, walking, limb stretching and turning, standing up and lying down normally. Poultry walking ability may be improved by perching and walking on ramps (Mench et al., 2001). According to Linares and Martin (2010), preening is the act of smoothing out or cleaning the feathers with the beak. It is a common behaviour performed in group
*The bones of a bird's pelvic girdle and the lumbar, sacral, and a few caudal vertebrae are fused into a single, solid structure called the synsacrum (Fig. 21.4).