The Age of Birds: ,

The Age of Birds is a serious look at the evolution of birds, from when they first started to fly, to evolutionary dead ends and the modern forms they have taken today. The book is very detailed, dealing with the many confusing theories as ornithologists use the fossil record, teeth, feathers and other clues to understand how birds are related to each other. The book is full of fun facts but also interesting view points. For example the author dismisses the Pleistocene overkill hypothesis, by Paul S. Martin, because many birds, besides vultures who preyed on the large mammals, also died out during the end of the Ice Age. The book was published in 1980 so much of the information may be outdated already which is why I took away one point.