TheEvolutionaryHistoryofBirds

By:JohnathanReinke

Evolutionisthegradual,naturaldevelopmentofaspeciescausedbygeneticmutation
andnaturalselection.Whilemostexamplesofphysicalevolutionaregradualchangesoverlong
periodsoftime,theevolutionofthebirdsweseetodayhavegonethroughmillionsofyearsof
evolutionwithaseeminglydrasticoutcome.Thisessaywillbecoveringthetheoryonhowbirds
evolved,thebackgroundoftheirspecificevolutionsandtheadaptationsandevolutionoftheir
flight.

TheTheropodHypothesisisoneofthestrongestandmostacceptedtheoriesonthe
originofbirds.BasicallytheTheropodHypothesisstatesthatthetheropoda(suborderofbipedal
saurischiandinosaurs)isthemostcloselyrelatedgroupofofreptilestobirds.Thistheoryis
mainlysupportedbythecollectionofstudiesontheropodfossilsdatingbacktotheMesozoicera
(Smith,1998).Fossilslikethearchaeopteryxhavebeengreatlystudiedastheyaretheclosest
distinctancestorofthemodernbirdandwidelyacceptedasso(Seefigure1).Otherfossilssuch
astheoviraptoralsosupportedthistheoryasitwasatheropodofabirdlikestatefoundonnest
tryingtoprotectandwarmitseggs.Bylookingatlimbsoftheropodsscientistwereableto
discernthatthesereptilesbecameincreasinglysimilarphysicalfeaturessotheycreated
evolutionarytreesdatingeveryfossilbacktotheearliesttheropods(Ehrlichetal,1998).
Eventuallyasmoreandmoreevidenceofphysicalfeatures,geneticmakeups,andfeathers
becomegreatenoughiswasfinallyacceptedasawidelyorigintobirds.

Thephysicalfeaturesoftheearlytheropodsareoneofthebiggestsupportingfactorsthat
earlybirdsevolvedfromthetheropodsuborder.Astimewentonthefeaturesofthetheropods
grewmoreandmorelikethebirdsweseetoday.Someoftheearliestdevelopmentswerethe
developmentoffeathersandthespreadingofthelimbs.Feathersearlyonweremostlikely
developedforthesolepurposeofinsulationofbodyheat,althoughspeculatedthatitwasfor
camouflagealso.Thefeathersovertimecreatedathickmatsurroundingthebodiesallowingfor
insulationofbodyheatbutbecameincreasinglyusefulforheatingandprotectingeggs.Thisuse
offeatherscanbecommonlyseenintodaysbirdsespeciallythechicken.Thedevelopmentof
thelimbs,mainlytheforearms,isoneofthegreatestevolutionsofdinosaurstobirds.Theropods
originallyhadhandswithsmallfirthandfourthdigitsandalongseconddigit.Astimewentonthe
fourthandfifthdigitwascompletelylostalongwiththeconsolidationofsomeofthewristbones,
turningthearmintoasemicircularshapethatallowedthehandtorotatesidewaysagainstthe
forearm.Thisevolutionallowedforearlybirdwingjointstoaccelerateinawaythatcreates
thrustallowingflight.Overthisperiodoftimemanythingsstartedtohappentothetheropods
skeletalsystem.Bonewallsstartedtothinleadingeventuallytohollowbones,thewishbone
becamestrongerandmoreelaborate,bonesintheshouldersconnectedthemselvestothe
breastboneandthebreastboneitselfbecamelargerallofwhichimprovedtheabilitytoflyby
anchoringflightmusclesandlosingweight.Whilethiswashappeningthegreattransition
betweenformsoftravelbecamedistinctandwassettledonflyinginsteadofrunningcausing
birdsarmstobecomelongerthanthelegsanddevelopfullwings(UCMP,2014).Allofthese
effectsonthephysicalbodyeventuallycondensedintowhatwecallabirdtodayeventually
splittingintodifferentspeciesofthe10,000knowntodayalthoughthatdoesnotmeanbirdswill
stopevolving.

Theabilityofflighthasalwaysbeenagivenforbirds,acceptafew,andthewaytheydo
thisismarvelous.Oneuniquefeatureofbirdsisthattheyhaveholloworpneumatizedbones
whichlightenstheweightbyquitealotbutstillgivingenoughrigiditythroughstrutlikestructures
withinthebonethatpreventbreakingifhitagainstahardsurface(Ehrlichetal,1998).Another
thingbirdshaveisthatgroupsofboneshavefusedtogether,suchasthebreastbone,tocreatea
singlestructureorhavealtogetherdisappearedfromtheskeleton(UCMP,2014).Overall
evolutionhascreatedanavianskeletoninwhichithaslighteneditwherepossibleand
strengtheneditwhereneeded.Althoughnotallbirdshavethesameamountofbone/airratio.
Birdsthatusedivingasprimarysourceofgettingfoodhaverelativelysolidbones.Another
adaptationtoflightthatbirdsmadeisthroughmultipleorgansystems.Allreproductiveorgans
shrinkinsizetillmatingseasoninwhichtheythenenlargealsotherespiratorysystem
contributestoonefifthoftheaverageweightofabird.Thisisrequiredforthedemandsofflight
andcomparedtohumansitisproportionallylargerandmoreefficient.Theefficiencyisachieved
throughahighlycomplexonewayflowlungsystemthatconsistsofposteriorandanteriorair
sacsthatallowsforcrosscurrentcirculationofairandbloodthatcreatesagreater
oxygen/carbondioxideexchange(Ehrlichetal,1998).

Inconclusionbirdsarereptilesthankstomillionsofyearsofevolution.Theydeveloped
fromthesubordertheropoda(Althoughstilldisputed),haveevolveduniquephysicalfeatures
suchasfeathersandwingsalongwithfeaturesthatletthemfly.Nexttimeyouseeabirdthinkto
yourselfIfevolutionhasturnedgreatcarnivorousreptilesintosemiharmlesssmallbirds,what
willbecomeofhumansinahundredmillionyears?Wouldthehumanracebecome
humpbackedwithallthetabletsandphonesforcingourneckstoeverkeepleaningdownor
woulditbecomeevertallerthroughnaturalselection,orshorterforthatmatter?

WorksCited
Ehrlich,PaulR.,DavidS.Dobkin,andDarrylWheye."AdaptationsforFlight."Adaptationsfor
Flight.StanfordUniversity,1998.Web.05June2014.

Smith,Dave."AreBirdsReallyDinosaurs?"Dinobuzz:DinosaurBirdRelationships.N.p.,22Jan.
1998.Web.20May2014.

UCMP."TheOriginofBirds."Evolution.berkeley.edu.NationalScienceFoundation,n.d.Web.05
June2014.