A new study from the University of Cape Town has shown that fossil relatives of ostriches and emus had a remarkable foraging ecology that was more like that of the Hadeda Ibis than their giant flightless living relatives. What is even more fascinating is that they may have inherited this unique ‘sixth sense’ from their non-avian dinosaur relatives.
The fossil birds we studied were the lithornithids, whose name means ‘stone birds’. These ancient birds co-existed with non-avian dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago and survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event that killed off all dinosaurs except for birds. The lithornithids are the earliest members of the paleognathous clade of birds, the group of birds that are sometimes also known as ratites. It includes ostriches, emus and the kiwis from New Zealand, as well as the gigantic, extinct Elephantbirds and moas. The lithornithids went extinct about 40 million years ago, but based on fossil material from North America and Europe, we know that they were roughly the size and shape of oystercatchers, were able to fly and lived in and around wetlands like modern wading birds (for example rails and ibises).
This story is from the March/April 2021 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March/April 2021 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
