Longicrusavis

In Depth        Closely related to the genus Hongshanornis,‭ ‬Longicrusavis was an early bird that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Also like Hongshanornis,‭ ‬Longicrusavis is usually portrayed as an early wading bird that would have scoured shallows of lake edges looking for small invertebrates to eat. Further Reading -‭ ‬A new ornithuromorph‭ (‬Aves:‭ ‬Ornithothoraces‭) … Read more

Yanornis

yanornis

In Depth        Along with Microraptor, the discovery of Yanornis was born out of the Archaeoraptor scandal. Named after the Yan Dynasty, Yanornis features several features that are common to modern birds including the absence of the prefrontal bone, a bone that separates the lacrimal bone in front of the eye from the frontal bone that … Read more

Yixianornis

In Depth        Yixianornis clearly differs from most other early Cretaceous birds in that the wings are rounded instead of pointed.‭ ‬The tail of Yixianornis‭ ‬is‭ ‬also clearly formed into a pygostyle which allowed for a strong and flexible attachment for tail feathers,‭ ‬which could be fanned out in flight,‭ ‬and then packed tight when resting.‭ … Read more

Hongshanornis

In Depth        Hongshanornis was an early bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous period.‭ ‬Most interpretations of Hongshanornis depict it as being a wading bird but one that was still capable of flight.‭ ‬The wings were fairly broad and tapered out to triangular points at the end.‭ ‬If Hongshanornis was a wader then … Read more