The Origin of Birds

The Origin of Birds PDF Author: Gerhard Heilmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description

The Origin of Birds

The Origin of Birds PDF Author: Gerhard Heilmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description


The Origin and Evolution of Birds

The Origin and Evolution of Birds PDF Author: Alan Feduccia
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300078619
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 490

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Book Description
An exploration of all that is known about the origin of birds and of avian flight. It draws on fossil evidence and studies of the structure and biochemistry of living birds to present knowledge and data on avian evolution and to propose a new model of this evolutionary process.

The Origin of Birds and the Evolution of Flight

The Origin of Birds and the Evolution of Flight PDF Author: Kevin Padian
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780940228146
Category : Animal flight
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Feathered Dinosaurs

Feathered Dinosaurs PDF Author: John A. Long
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195372662
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
A stunning visual record of feathered dinosaurs illuminates the evolutionary march from these extraordinary prehistoric creatures through to the first true flying birds and includes an engaging companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs within the larger family of dinosaurs.

On the Wing

On the Wing PDF Author: Dr. David E. Alexander
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199996776
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
"On the Wing is the first book to take a comprehensive look at the evolution of flight in all four groups of powered flyers: insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats."--Book jacket.

Taking Wing

Taking Wing PDF Author: Pat Shipman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684849658
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
In 1861, just a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a scientist named Hermann von Meyer made an amazing discovery. Hidden in the Bavarian region of Germany was a fossil skeleton so exquisitely preserved that its wings and feathers were as obvious as its reptilian jaws and tail. This transitional creature offered tangible proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. Hailed as the First Bird, Archaeopteryx has remained the subject of heated debates for the last 140 years. Are birds actually living dinosaurs? Where does the fossil record really lead? Did flight originate from the "ground up" or "trees down"? Pat Shipman traces the age-old human desire to soar above the earth and to understand what has come before us. Taking Wing is science as adventure story, told with all the drama by which scientific understanding unfolds.

The Rise of Birds

The Rise of Birds PDF Author: Sankar Chatterjee
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 142141614X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
The most comprehensive account of the origin of ancient and modern birds—the "living dinosaurs." A small set of fossilized bones discovered almost thirty years ago led paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee on a lifelong quest to understand their place in our understanding of the history of life. They were clearly the bones of something unusual, a bird-like creature that lived long, long ago in the age of dinosaurs. He called it Protoavis, and the animal that owned these bones quickly became a contender for the title of "oldest known bird." In 1997, Chatterjee published his findings in the first edition of The Rise of Birds. Since then Chatterjee and his colleagues have searched the world for more transitional bird fossils. And they have found them. This second edition of The Rise of Birds brings together a treasure trove of fossils that tell us far more about the evolution of birds than we once dreamed possible. With no blind allegiance to what he once thought he knew, Chatterjee devours the new evidence and lays out the most compelling version of the birth and evolution of the avian form ever attempted. He takes us from Texas to Spain, China, Mongolia, Madagascar, Australia, Antarctica, and Argentina. He shows how, in the "Cretaceous Pompeii" of China, he was able to reconstruct the origin and evolution of flight of early birds from the feathered dinosaurs that lay among thousands of other amazing fossils. Chatterjee takes us to where long-hidden bird fossils dwell. His compelling, occasionally controversial, revelations—accompanied by spectacular illustrations—are a must-read for anyone with a serious interest in the evolution of "the feathered dinosaurs," from vertebrate paleontologists and ornithologists to naturalists and birders.

New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds

New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds PDF Author: Jacques Gauthier
Publisher: Yale Univ Peabody Museum
ISBN: 9780912532578
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 613

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How Birds Evolve

How Birds Evolve PDF Author: Douglas J. Futuyma
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691227268
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
A marvelous journey into the world of bird evolution How Birds Evolve explores how evolution has shaped the distinctive characteristics and behaviors we observe in birds today. Douglas Futuyma describes how evolutionary science illuminates the wonders of birds, ranging over topics such as the meaning and origin of species, the evolutionary history of bird diversity, and the evolution of avian reproductive behaviors, plumage ornaments, and social behaviors. In this multifaceted book, Futuyma examines how birds evolved from nonavian dinosaurs and reveals what we can learn from the "family tree" of birds. He looks at the ways natural selection enables different forms of the same species to persist, and discusses how adaptation by natural selection accounts for the diverse life histories of birds and the rich variety of avian parenting styles, mating displays, and cooperative behaviors. He explains why some parts of the planet have so many more species than others, and asks what an evolutionary perspective brings to urgent questions about bird extinction and habitat destruction. Along the way, Futuyma provides an insider's perspective on how biologists practice evolutionary science, from studying the fossil record to comparing DNA sequences among and within species. A must-read for bird enthusiasts and curious naturalists, How Birds Evolve shows how evolutionary biology helps us better understand birds and their natural history, and how the study of birds has informed all aspects of evolutionary science since the time of Darwin.

Avian Evolution

Avian Evolution PDF Author: Gerald Mayr
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119020735
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.