Notes on the Structure and Habits of the Bird 



Jay Traver 

 Supervisor of Nature Study, Wilmington, Del. 



The first known bird is the Archaeopteryx. It had teeth and 

 the column of vertebrae extended nearly the whole length of the 

 tail ; moreover it had three fingers on the ' ' elbow' ' of each wing. 

 This bird was probably the size of a crow, fluttered rather than 

 flew about and probably walked on all fours quite frequently. It 

 occurred during the Jurassic Period, and is the great connecting 

 link which proves to us beyond doubt that our birds were descended 

 from a reptile-like ancestor, doubtless very different from any 

 reptile now in existence. 



Other ancestors of the bird were the Ichthyornis and the Hes- 

 perornis. The latter was a typical water bird, rather like a loon 

 in its habits — an admirable diver. To this end it had a long neck 

 and long slender jaws with recurved teeth, the lower jaw being 

 united in front only by cartilege, as in serpents. Probably it was 

 capable of swallowing almost anything. The Ichthyornis had 

 biconcave vertebrae, and teeth set in separate sockets. The 

 Hesperornis compared somewhat with the penguins of our own era 

 in that both were highly specialized for aquatic life. The Hes- 

 perornis swam by strokes of its great lobed toes, its wings dangling 

 helplessly, till finally only a vestige of the humerus remained. 

 Great speed was attained in the water by means of the large leg 

 and toe bones. Unlike our penguin in another respect, it prob- 

 ably could not stand erect on land. This ancient bird had a brain 

 comparatively smaller than that of any existing bird, and was 

 unable to exist in a changed environment. 



Other interesting birds, now extinct, of more recent periods are 

 the mo as, the elephant birds and the phororhacos. The latter had a 

 head like an eagle, probably was 7 to 1 2 feet high and ran down its 

 prey as a chicken does a grasshopper. These were found in South 

 America and the South American serienca is probably indirectly 

 descended from them. This bird shares the characters of cranes, 

 bustards and eagles and runs down its prey, chiefly mice. The 

 moas and elephant birds were probably not unrelated to the 

 ostrich, and may very likely have been in existence almost up to 

 the time of the coming of the white man. 



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