54 ANIMALS OF THE PAST 



old, to climb about the branches. Mr. Quelch, who 

 has studied these curious birds in their native wilds of 

 British Guiana, tells us that soon after hatching, the 

 nestlings being to crawl about by means of their legs and 

 wings, the well-developed claws on the thumb and finger 

 being constantly in use for hooking to surrounding ob- 

 jects. If they are drawn from the nest by means of their 

 legs, they hold on firmly to the twigs, both with their 

 bill and wings ; and if the nest be upset they hold on to 

 all objects with which they come in contact by bill, 

 feet, and wings, making considerable use of the bill, 

 with the help of the clawed wings, to raise themselves 

 to a higher level. 1 



Thus, by putting these various facts together we ob- 

 tain some pretty good ideas regarding the appearance 

 and habits of the first birds. The immediate ancestors 

 of birds, their exact point of departure from other 

 vertebrates, is yet to be discovered; at one time it was 

 considered that they were the direct descendants of 

 Dinosaurs, or that at least both were derived from the 

 same parent forms, and while that view was almost 

 abandoned, it is again being brought forward with 

 much to support it. It has also been thought that birds 

 and those flying reptiles, the pterodactyls, have had a 

 common ancestry, and the possibility of this is still 

 entertained. Be that as it may, it is safe to consider that 

 back in the past, earlier than the Jurassic, were creat- 

 ures neither bird nor reptile, but possessing rudi- 

 mentary feathers and having the promise of a wing in 

 the structure of their fore legs, and some time one of 

 these animals may come to light; until then Archse- 

 opteryx remains the earliest known bird. 



1 Mr. Beebe who has also studied the Hoactzins in their native wilds 

 says that they do not use their bills. 



