Did you know that a distant relative of the T. rex is flitting around your bird feeder? Baby pigeons – they look a bit dinosaur-ish don’t they? Cormorants – don’t you think they have a hint of Velociraptor about them too?
Birds are the only known living dinosaurs. They’re descended from the type of dinosaur known as the theropod, which first appeared 231 million years ago. Theropods were two-legged, and mostly carnivorous, and include the most famous dinosaur of all: T. rex.
During the Jurassic period, (201 to 145 million years ago), a range of interesting bird-like species of theropods started to evolve. The Velociraptor, made famous by Jurassic Park, is likely to have been covered in suspiciously bird-like feathers.
Along the way, species such as the 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx evolved. In contrast to modern birds, Archaeopteryx had teeth, a bony tail, and clawed wings, but certainly a bird-like arrangement of feathers which can be seen in fossil records.
Modern birds have inherited their bipedalism (two-leggedness) from the theropods , as they have evolved to fly using only their upper limbs, as opposed to bats, where all limbs get involved.
They’re not birds – and they’re not even dinosaurs. Pterosaurs were a type of flying reptile and the first to have evolved powered flight. They aren’t relatives of birds, but they can fly. Their flight evolved separately to that of early birds.
Around 66.7 million years ago marked the arrival of the ‘Wonderchicken,’ or Asteriornis maastrichtensis: the world’s oldest-known modern bird. The Wonderchicken sits close to the common ancestor of two major groups of modern birds – the ancestor of chickens, and the ancestor of ducks.
A short time after the Wonderchicken existed, around 66 million years ago, an asteroid struck Earth. It caused a mass extinction event of nearly 70% of all plant and animal species (including most dinosaurs), except for a tiny group of bird species. This was due to the fact they were small, and generalist feeders, so weren’t reliant on any one food source.
By 50 million years ago, nearly all the bird orders had been established. These then diversified to the 11,000 or so species that can be found today.
So next time you’re watching your garden birds on a feeder, remember that they’re descendants of enormous dinosaurs that once roamed the Earth.
If you’ve enjoyed reading these facts about birds and dinosaurs, then you’ll love the Natural History Museum’s new exhibition called Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre, in affiliation with the RSPB. This new exhibition explores birds’ incredible story throughout history – from surviving the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, to how they diversified into a staggering 11,000 distinct species. As a bonus, RSPB members get 20% off tickets to the exhibition.
