Birds are Dinosaurs

Recently, paleontologists, scientists that study

dinosaurs, and ornithologists, scientists that
study birds, have found that birds are related to
dinosaurs. Dinosaur fossils in China show
imprints of feathers in surrounding rocks, and
other dinosaur fossils look like bird skeletons.
Bird Bones are Hollow

Compared to humans’ bones, bird

bones are lightweight. This is because
they are mostly hollow, with large air
spaces inside the bones. Even though
they don’t weigh much, bird bones
are still very strong. Because they are
light and strong, birds’ bones are very
good for helping birds to fly.
 Beaks and Talons are made of Keratin

Birds’ beaks and claws, or talons, are

made of keratin, the same material
your fingernails are made of! Beaks
and talons also determine what birds
eat. Birds with flat beaks like ducks
eat small plants from water, and their
webbed feet help them to swim. Birds
with sharp beaks and long talons, like
eagles, eat small critters, using their
sharp claws and beak to tear meat.
Wings let Bird Fly

Wings are some of the most

recognizable bird features. They are
the most important body parts for
flight in birds. Different kinds of wings
exist: penguins have thicker and
narrower wings that help with
swimming; hummingbirds have small
wings that can move in many different
directions, letting them fly backwards;
and albatross have very large, wide,
and long wings that let them fly very
far, sometimes even hundreds or
thousands of miles!
 Feathers have Many Different Uses

Feathers cover a bird’s body and

there are many different kinds of
feathers. The biggest ones are found
on the wing tips and tails of birds and
help birds fly well. Other kinds are
found on the chest and belly of birds,
and they insulate the bird, helping to
keep them warm. Feathers are also
what give birds their colors. Feathers
can be many different colors,
representing almost the whole
rainbow!
 References

Dumont, E. (2010). Bone Density and the Lightweight Skeletons of Birds. Proceedings of the Royal
Society B, 277, 2193–2198 doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0117

Evans, S. W. (2021). The wing morphology traits of resident birds that spend a large amount of time per
day flying are similar to those of migrant birds. Journal of Ornithology, 162(3), 765–778.
https://doi-org.proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/10.1007/s10336-021-01870-4

Hand, C. (2019). The Evolution of Birds. Essential Library, an imprint of Abdo Publishing.
https://discovery-ebsco-com.proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/c/24jp5w/details/2hnybg2lzz?q=%28bird
%20AND%20evolution%29

Navalón, G., Bright, J. A., Marugán-Lobón, J., & Rayfield, E. J. (2019). The evolutionary relationship
among beak shape, mechanical advantage, and feeding ecology in modern birds. Evolution,
73(3), 422–435. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48576182
Stoddard, M. C., & Prum, R. O. (2011). How colorful are birds? Evolution of the avian plumage color
gamut. Behavioral Ecology, 22, 1042-1052 doi:10.1093/beheco/arr088