Boggy's links to Fossil Birds

Books about Fossil Birds

	Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight Examines the scientific implications and continuing controversy over Archaeopteryx, a bird-reptile fossil discovered 130 years ago that many scientists believe offers tangible proof of Darwin's theory of evolution.
	Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and the Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds This text presents the most recent work of evolutionary scientist and dinosaur illustrator, Gregory Paul. It synthesizes the growing body of evidence which suggests that modern-day birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs of prehistoric times. Paul argues provocatively for the idea that the ancestor-descendant relationship between the dinosaurs and birds can on occasion be reversed, and that many dinosaurs were secondarily flightless descendants of creatures we would regard as birds. The book also offers firsthand interpretations of major fossils; a balanced discussion of the ways we think flight may have evolved (comparing "ground up" and "trees down" scenarios); a close look at the famous urvogel Archaeopteryx, discussing what it can and cannot tell us about bird origins; and in-depth analyses of bird and theropod phylogenetics. Full of detail for the specialist but accessible to the intelligent lay reader, the book includes the author's own illustrations and a technical appendix which provides information, for example, on body mass/wing dimension relationships and avian/dinosaurian metabolics.
	Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs Assembling work by an international group of scientists, this text provides a wide-ranging source on early avian evolution. It provides a comprehensive examination of the known fossil record and is also a guide to the fast-paced developments in research. The text covers a wide range of topics, including discussions of avian origins, the fossil record of feathers and footprints, bone histology, and locomotor evolution. Controversial taxa such as Protoavis, Caudipteryx, and Mononykus receive special treatment. But the heart of the volume presents the anatomy, relationships, and paleobiology of the Mesozoic aviary. The book features descriptions and illustrations of taxa that previously have received only brief notice, such as the alvarezsaurid Shuvuuia; the enantiornithines Sinornis; Eoalulvis, Vorona, and Patagopteryx; and the hesperornithiform Enaliornis.

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