Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs (Brusatte, 2018) (1 Viewer)

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World (Steve Brusatte, April 2018).

Not exactly academic science writing about bird paleontology -- more popular science writing about the history of dinosaurs in general. But it did catch my eye -- or ear -- since I discovered the book in a list of audio book titles.

*****

A few years ago my son comes home with an announcement.

"We have little dinosaurs in the back yard."

Huh? I answered.

"Sure, birds! They are descendants from dinosaurs. You and mom are always talking about family history, visiting cemeteries, and such. Well, look out the window. There is some family history walking around in the back yard -- and building a nest in the gutter drain pipe outside my bedroom window."

I chuckled.
:-O

If you are interested in bird evolution read this thread you find a lot of information there:

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=326439&highlight=Mayr+evolution+birds

Fred

Fred...

Thank you.

And yes, I do find bird evolution fascinating. Just last night I was watching Hummingbirds: Jewelled Messengers (narrated by David Attenborough, 2015).


The video showed the symbiotic relationships between flowering plants and hummingbirds in Patagonia, Argentina, South America in the harsh climates of the cold high mountains.

Anyway, these are things you already know -- I am sure.

Let's talk sometime about feathers!

Crusty said:

And yes, I do find bird evolution fascinating. Just last night I was watching Hummingbirds: Jewelled Messengers (narrated by David Attenborough, 2015).

Click to expand...

Well, then you will find it surprising that the oldest Trochilidae were not found in South-America or North-America but in Europe:

Eurotrochilus inexpectatus G. Mayr, 2004. from the Early Oligocene of Germany, 32 MYa;
Eurotrochilus noniewiczi Bocheński et Bocheński, 2008. from the Early Oligocene of Poland, ± 31 MYa;
Eurotrochilus sp. Louchart, Tourment, Carrier, Roux et Mourer-Chauviré, 2007. from the Early Oligocene of France.

Literature:

Zygmunt Bochenski & Zbigniew Bochenski, 2008: An Old World Hummingbird from the Oligocene: A New Fossil from Polish Carpathians: Journal of Ornithology 149: 211-216

Antoine Louchart, Nicolas Tourment, Julie Carrier, Thierry Roux & Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, 2008: Hummingbird with Modern Feathering: an Exceptionally Well-preserved Oligocene Fossil from Southern France: Naturwissenschaften 95: 171-175

Gerald Mayr, 2004: Old World Fossil Record of Modern-Type Hummingbirds: Science 304: 861-864



Fred

Fred...

Now I feel a tug to get back to doing some home improvements so I can continue my independent studies.

What improvements you ask?

Freeing up "living space" for my wife's home improvements by moving some wall book cases from our "living room" to the migration of my personal book library to "his basement" along with many boxes of books.

Please don't ask how many boxes of books?

But...

Among my migration boxes are a few geology books and many nature books. As we age in our home, boundaries are being established between my wife and I. I am talking about high cliff palisades along the river of life. There are "Crusty's rooms" and there are those spaces belonging to Crusty's wife.

In one of Crusty's rooms is a wall rack for hanging posters, maps, and charts (e.g., nature posters, topographical maps, geology charts, and astronomy star charts). Tucked among a few planet earth posters is this poster I picked up a few years ago while visiting a natural history museum in Chicago.

Eras of Life Poster 24x36 Illustrated Geological Chart NEW EDITION! Art Poster Print, 24x36 (2004, 2008, 2012).

We live in the geologic area known as the Cincinnati Arch -- famous for Ordovician fossils and rocks of the Cincinnati region that geologists use the term "Cincinnati" for strata of the same age all over North America. Another book for the basement migration.

A Sea without Fish: Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region (D. L. Meyer, R. A. Davis, S. M. Holland, Indiana University, 2009).

I am trying to work the evolution of birds into my wrinkled old brain before our home becomes a temple to sports. If all goes according to plan, Crusty may have his "exoplanet" in the basement with the arachnids.

A spider has been knitting here (Cartoonist: Delgado, Roy, 1992).

Oh well...

Subtropical Storm Alberto Threatens Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Florida With Flooding, Storm Surge, Winds; Warnings Issued (Weather Channel, 27 May 2018).