Welcome to the Bird Evolution Page
The evolution of bird species is best illustrated using the drawings Darwin himself made of various species of finches he found on the Galapagos Islands during his voyage on the HMS Beagle in 1831-1836. He made the link between beak shape and diet and thus set in motion an entire line of thinking that paired morphology (physical appearance) with environmental pressures.
In its most simple form, evolution, as Darwin stated it, became a matter of one species splitting into several species in response to environmental pressures or opportunities (adaptive radiation) with the resultant physical changes being passed on faithfully through generations. He did not have the benefit of a knowledge of genetics which would have explained how these traits are passed on through generations.
Would you like to be a historical Biologist? You can read a great deal more about bird evolution as Darwin saw it on the Galpagos Islands in the 19th century. The first book on the right is, itself, a classic treatment by David Lack who is a pioneering biologist in the field of bird evolutuion and behavior. The other two books also are good discussions and reviews of avian evolution from Darwin's perspective. These books will take you into the developing science of evolution using Darwin's birds as a vehicle. Although birds look like birds and not like lizards, the natural principles are exactely the same. In that respect, these books are more about processes than they are about the history of the fossil development of birds.
Are you more interested in the fossil record and the actual origin of birds? These books are good reads dealing with early bird ancestors from the time of dinosaurs. There are some fascinating issues here such as the origin of feathers which are quite neccessary to true flight. For that matter, how did flight itself evolve? You have never seen a dinosaur fly in anyone's wild imaginings. These books are more concerned with the record of the past than they are about the natural processes by which birds came to be here and came to be here in such great diversity.
