Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-04-30

has shown that the descent OF BIRDS
from some reptilian ancestor was
not mere supposition but certain
fv. In proving that certainty, we
must go back as far in time as we
are able, and try to locate some re-
mote creature who was birdllke IN
share, and yet with the structure OF
a lizard. To do this, we must hunt
for the bones of birds that have lived
long since and, finding them, recon
struct the birds skeleton. The find
ing of such remains offers difficulties,
as it is hard to conceive of anything
as small as the wingbone of chick
en- which died in an age that was
ancient history when Scion ruled in
Athens, coming down to us OF the
year 1924. 1t has happened and does
happen now and the reason lies in
the fact that sometimes birds die and
their body is preserved in limestone,
covered by mud or otherwise pre-
vented from decaying In the shift
ings of the earth's surface, such evil
dences OF past civilizations are
eternally being forced to the surface,
and, though the bones may have been
small, their imprint has been sharply
and accurately defined on the soft
stone that it was lodged in. For in
stance, dead birds that are brought
into caves by owls, since they are
kept away from moisture. are usu-
ally preserved. In California there
are wells Of sticky asphalt, whose
surfaces hold water and attract ami
mails to drink. They become mired,
sink and are stored away, some day
to come to light with the shifting of
the earth's surface.
IN going back to study past ages in.
time, one must put aside all of the
present-day ideas as TO what time is.
An age represents millions of years,
and when one skips merrily from
EoCene to the Jurassic periods, one
forgets that more years have elapsed
than have rolled by since God made
the world, according to the bible
story OF course, compared with
reptiles and mammals, the remains
of birds are few and far between, due
to their fragility. 1t is natural also
that the more recent deposits should
have the most abundant bird re-
mains, for these deposits have suf-
fered little disturbance.
In this country, the asphalt lakes
at Rancho la Brea, California, have
yielded the remains of great many
birds chiefly birds of prey and
waders These date from the
Pleistocene period to the present
day The species discovered in the
lake include a lOng-legged eagle, of a
species now extinct; the remains of
a large hawk of a kind now confined
10 South America; and, last but most
important of all, the discovery of the
remains of an enormous eagle-like
bird, which has been named Terator-
mis-. Its skull alone is almost twice
the size of a bald eagles ana the
other bones are in proportion. 1t
was a Yeritable aeroplane in flight
and a tradition, that may be linked
with it, has come down to us even to
the present day, through the Indians.
1t is related that the bride of a
young warrior was carried off one
day by great bird, the last of a dy-
ing species The warrior resolved
to kill the thing, and so planted him
self conspicuously on a rock, placing
a band of his friends in hiding near
by, The giant bird swooped down
and, despite the efforts of the chief
tain, scared away with him. The
warriors rushed forth from their
hiding place and brought the bird
down, which, incidentally, saved the
chiefs life.
Going back to the most famous of
recently extinct birds, we find the
dodo, always a lively topic of dis
cussion at any dinner party. 1t was
found by the early yoyagers on the
islands of Nautilus, near NADIA
gascar We have the first account
of the bird from the Dutch sailors
who landed there in 1898 and were
so charmed with the place that they
stayed for quite a time enjoying
diet of turtles eggs and dodo meat
The bird was an enormous pigeon
that had lost the use of its wings
and was, therefore, not particularly
difficult to catch. The Dutch sailors
had few ideas on the subject of con-
servation and gave the poor dodo
short shrift.
Madagascar was the home of many
large birds, known as giant-birds,
which seem to have become extinct.
in the Pleistocene period Many of
their enormous bones have been
found and even eggs foot long. The
largest stood nearly ten feet high
and had only tiny heads, and de-
generate wings. In New Zealand
also there was a race of large birds,
now wholly disappeared, called Moas,
which represented distinct type,
differing radically from the giant
birds. The Moas lived until recent
times and were probably killed off by
the Aborigenes, for their bones are
found in the kitchen middens. 1t is
interesting to note here that large
birds are among the first to die out.
due to their unusually quiet lives.
1t is rule of evolution that the de-