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Bird behaviour (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Richard Klim
- Start date
Melanie
Well-known member
Darren Naish's article can be download on his blog
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...4/01/27/bird-behaviour-deep-time-perspective/
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...4/01/27/bird-behaviour-deep-time-perspective/
Fred Ruhe
Well-known member
An interesting paper. Abstract:
Between the Middle Jurassic and Holocene, birds evolved an enormous diversity
of behaviours. The distribution and antiquity of these behaviours is difficult to
establish given a relatively poor fossil record. Rare crop, stomach and gut contents
typically reveal diets consistent with morphology but stem-members of some
lineages (including Cariamae and Coraciiformes) seem to have been different in
ecology from their extant relatives. Most of our ideas about the behaviour of fossil
birds are based on analogy (with skull form, limb proportions and claw curvature
being used to guide hypotheses). However, this has limitations given that some
extinct taxa lack extant analogues and that some extant taxa do not behave as
predicted by osteology. Reductionist methods have been used to test predation
style and running ability in fossil taxa including moa, Gastornis and
phorusrhacids. Virtually nothing is known of nesting and nest-building behaviour
but colonial nesting is known from the Cretaceous onwards. Rare vegetative nests
demonstrate modern nest-building from the Eocene onwards. Ornamental
rectrices indicate that sexually driven display drove some aspects of feather evolution
and evidence for loud vocal behaviour and intraspecific combat is known
for some taxa. Our knowledge of fossil bird behaviour indicates that ‘modern’
behaviours are at least as old as crown birds. Stem-members of extant lineages,
however, may sometimes or often have differed from extant taxa.
Fred
Between the Middle Jurassic and Holocene, birds evolved an enormous diversity
of behaviours. The distribution and antiquity of these behaviours is difficult to
establish given a relatively poor fossil record. Rare crop, stomach and gut contents
typically reveal diets consistent with morphology but stem-members of some
lineages (including Cariamae and Coraciiformes) seem to have been different in
ecology from their extant relatives. Most of our ideas about the behaviour of fossil
birds are based on analogy (with skull form, limb proportions and claw curvature
being used to guide hypotheses). However, this has limitations given that some
extinct taxa lack extant analogues and that some extant taxa do not behave as
predicted by osteology. Reductionist methods have been used to test predation
style and running ability in fossil taxa including moa, Gastornis and
phorusrhacids. Virtually nothing is known of nesting and nest-building behaviour
but colonial nesting is known from the Cretaceous onwards. Rare vegetative nests
demonstrate modern nest-building from the Eocene onwards. Ornamental
rectrices indicate that sexually driven display drove some aspects of feather evolution
and evidence for loud vocal behaviour and intraspecific combat is known
for some taxa. Our knowledge of fossil bird behaviour indicates that ‘modern’
behaviours are at least as old as crown birds. Stem-members of extant lineages,
however, may sometimes or often have differed from extant taxa.
Fred
