The Origin and Evolution of Birds - Softcover

Feduccia, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300078617 ISBN 13: 9780300078619

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1999

Synopsis

This monumental book is a comprehensive and profusely illustrated exploration of all that is known about the origin of birds and of avian flight. Alan Feduccia, a leading ornithologist and evolutionary biologist, draws on fossil evidence and studies of the structure and biochemistry of living birds to present current knowledge and fresh data on avian evolution and to propose a major new model of this evolutionary process.

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Feduccia is S. K. Heninger Professor, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

From Library Journal:

Feduccia (Catesby's Birds of Colonial America, LJ 10/15/85) draws from his career as a noted paleontologist to provide a comprehensive review of the current information on vertebrate evolution, explaining the rise of modern-day birds. From the earliest fossil records to the specialized forms of today (flightless birds, raptors, wading birds, and perching birds), prominent theories are evaluated through the author's scientifically conservative "facts only" perspective. The theory that hot-blooded, intelligent dinosaurs were early ancestors is debunked, and the accepted "ground-up" evolution of birds is reversed with an innovative "tree-down" hypothesis. Relationships between existing species are assessed through the principles of evolutionary convergence and adaptive radiation. This fact-filled, well-illustrated, and accurate work will enthrall serious science readers, but the technical vocabulary will put off casual browsers. Highly recommended for educated lay readers interested in ornithology, dinosaurs, or evolution.?Frank Reiser, Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0300078617
• ISBN 13: 9780300078619
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480