Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-11

some ftiSti'lIt'llhc wa uS SWAIN az
the shallow seas that covered portions
Of the North American continent NH
lions Of wears ago. nr. Alexander Wet
more. assistant secretary Of the Smith
sonian Institution. told the Washing
ton Academy Of Sciences meeting at
the Carnegie Institution building last
night.
The earliest birds. which have been
preserved in fossil remains. DIR. Wet
more said. had teeth. Among these
was one large water bird with mere
rudiments of wings. but with long,
powerful legs at right angles 10 the
body which must have had a facllitv
Of movement in the water far IN eN-
cess Of that of any living bird. IL
probably could swim with the speed
and ease Of porpoise or dolphin, ne
said.
Fed OH Fish.
This bird. DIR. Wetmore pointed out,
was unable to walk. and If 1t ever
came on land probably crawled with
the clumsneSs of a seal. He beNefes
that il laid its eggs in masses OF noat.
ing vegetation. 1t fed on fish and
probably was a very hloodthirsty in
habitant of the interior seas. No
relationship to this creature can he
traced in any living birds. 1t has
been described. he said. as an aquatic
swimming ostrich" hut is by no
means an ancestor Of the ostrich
family. Its teeth were in grooves
rather than sockets. showing that
even then the process Of evolution
gradually was eliminating them from
the feathered race.
\ second type of toothed birds Of
which fossils have been found had
their teeth in sockets and were true
flyers. about the size of domestic
pigeons. They had large. strong
heads. real wings instead of large
membranes such as those of the
hats. and probably were nearer the
central line of bird ancestry. They
were somewhat like the modern
terms. DR.. Wetmore said, but cam
not he considered as ancestors. Rare
fossils of these two types are found
in deposits OF the cretacious period.
Giant Runners Found.
At the beginning OF the tertiary
neriod teeth had disappeared entirely.
The dominant type was an enormous
running bird. approximately 'eet
tall. with long. strong legs, weak
wings, and a heavy, strong hach'
This inhabited the MldNeSirth
plains when the interior seas We're "lS
II was somewhat CLOS" 10
the ancestral line of The cranes ana
r.3ls Dr. Wetmore said. although not
A direct ancestor. In this same period
enneared a Eallinaceous bird, roughly
~ he turkey family. which was
tree percher with claws adnliE2plH
4. life
EuIturelke birds appeared in the
o1ieofene period. bones Of six species
having been found in fossil deposits
in Colorado, One was similar 10 the
nresnrt black vul'ure. but half again
as large. Another was quite similar
10 the present California condor.
Fossil deposits of the miocene time,
DR.. Wefmore said. have yielded bones
of % species. including the hawks
eagles. plovers and. for the first time,
singing birds roughly comparable TO
the sonrsters of today. Sometime
between this period and the next, the
pliocene period, The fundamental eVo.
lutionary change from the crude bro
forms Of the distant past and the
birds Of today took place. The birds
Of this time, just before the coming
Of the ice ages. show the same types
AS are now found.
Hey-dey Of Bird Life.
It is probably, however. that TINS
was the hey-dey Of bird life IN North
America. DIR. Wetmore said, with more
species and greater diversity. The
birds had fewer natural enemies and
could develop in peace. The extreme.
" beautiful sub.tropical bird life OF
the present. he believes. probably
ranged quite far north. at least TO the
middle states. Although ii was not
sppreciably warmer at that time. the
climatic zones were not marked so
sharply and the birds did not suffer
from sudden changes. p the plelsfo'
Gene fossil birds, 105 species still are
living and about so have disappeared.
In iris period. DIR. Wetnore said. was
olnd the largest fysng bird vet known
70 science, considerably bigger than
the living condor
It il far more difficult to rebuild the
bird life Of the past. DIR. .Wetmore
said, than the mammal and reptile
life The great reptile monsters had
beg, heavy bones. which remained
where the animal died. so that they
were preserved almost in statu IL the
proper conditions for f0ssilization were
present Birds, however, from the
very nature of their evolution had
light, sometimes hollow bones which
were blown from place 10 place by
The winds. and easily broken into frae'
nlente which soon became dust. He
a lso pointed out that the birds seldom
died a natural death, but were the
prey az other creatures. and often
we're eaten. bones and all.