In the dinosaurs, the lateral condyle of the femur is subdivided into two parts, here termed semicondyles: cranial semicondyle which articulates primarily with the fibula, and caudal semicondyle which is known in the theropods as the ectocondylar tuber and articulates with the tibia. Modern birds also have two semicondyles, fibular and tibiofibular (“tibiofibular crest”), which roughly correspond in position to the non-avian theropod semicondyles. However, the basal birds have a single rounded lateral condyle which must have undergone differentiation into two modern avian semicondyles independently of those in the non-avian theropods. Since extrapolating anatomical terms for details of the femoral lateral condyle between modern birds and theropods seems unwarranted, I propose to use two separate, consistent sets of terms, both based on the subdivision of the lateral condyle into two semicondyles, as implemented for modern birds in Table 1.

Recent, apparent confirmation that the digits of the avian manus are II, III, and IV, and not I, II, and III as in theropods, brings into question the purported homologies thought by many to have existed between the wrist and manus of early birds and those of maniraptoran theropods. A close examination of the wrist and manus of five archaeopterygians confirms the presence of numerous previously recognized, as well as unrecognized, derived avian characters. These include, but are not limited to, Metacarpal II very short, slightly wrapping around and probably fused to Metacarpal III for much of its length; Metacarpal II with small Processus extensorius for attachment of M. extensor carpi radialis; Metacarpal IV with proximal end lying well distal to proximal ends of metacarpals II and III, wrapping under and fused to ventral surface of Metacarpal III; joint between Metacarpal II and Phalanx 1 of Digit II ginglymoid near plane of wing, allowing Digit II to function as a primitive alula; joints between metacarpals III and IV and their respective phalanges relatively immobile; and “palmar” surfaces of distal phalanges facing anteroventrad or anteriad when wing is extended. The above features are not found in theropods, but their more highly derived counterparts are found in all modern birds with wings, whether volant or not. The avian, rather than theropodian, structure of the wrist and manus of archaeopterygians indicates significant functional differences between the forelimbs of archaeopterygians and theropods, which is not surprising if different digits are involved. Some prominent “feathered dinosaurs” are recognized as having a more advanced avian manus than that found in archaeopterygians, indicating their avian, rather than dinosaurian, ancestry.

The unusual preservation and evolutionary significance of the avian and non-avian dinosaur fossils from western Liaoning Province in China exemplifies rare conservation deposits. Described as the Jehol Biota, the fauna includes such remarkable discoveries such as feathers and wings associated with dinosaurs as well as many new species of fossil birds preserved in abundance. Volcanic activity during the Mesozoic was crucial to the preservation of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota by acting as a mechanism that killed organisms en masse from volatile emissions and voluminous ash falls. One of the crucial specimens documented in the Liaoning deposits is Microraptor gui, a four-winged glider. Described as a feathered, non-avian dinosaur, the evolution of such an animal in a group closely related to birds necessitates revision of the origin of flight paradigm.

Some aspects of mandibular morphology are known for three hesperornithiform genera: Hesperornis, Parahesperornis and Baptornis. All share a distinctive intramandibular joint between the angular and the splenial. A special process of the surangular extending between the splenial and the dentary bridges the joint. The symphysis appears to have been elongate and unfused, joining anteriorly with a short intersymphyseal bone. It appears that the mandibles spread posteriorly as the jaws opened, allowing the swallowing of larger prey. The closed mandible is very slender anteriorly, resembling some cetaceans, and seems highly adapted for the capture of fish. The discovery of fish remains in a preserved stomach cast of Baptornis gives direct support for this interpretation.

A well preserved tibiotarsus from the Early Eocene locality of Saint-Papoul (Aude, southwestern France) is described as belonging to the giant ground bird Gastornis parisiensis Hébert, 1855, on the basis of close resemblances with the lectotype of that species. Small and variable differences in the tibiotarsi of European and North American gastornithids are considered as insufficient to justify a separation between Gastornis and Diatryma, the latter being considered as a junior synonym of the former. The discovery of Gastornis in southern France lends weight to the hypothesis according to which the large bird eggs found in the continental Lower Eocene of southern France may have been laid by gastornithids.

The skeleton of a large bird from Late Oligocene marine strata of the Tokoro Formation, exposed near Abashiri City in northeastern Hokkaido, Japan, represents a new genus and species of the extinct pelecaniform family Plotopteridae. This new specimen, Hokkaidornis abashiriensis new gen. et sp., was similar in size to Copepteryx hexeris Olson and Hasegawa, but differs from that species chiefly in characters of the anterior parts of the skeleton. The leg bones of H. abashiriensis and C. hexeris are nearly identical, and if found isolated, probably would be deemed congeneric/conspecific. The new animal from Hokkaido demonstrates that plotopterid generic diversity during Late Oligocene time was greater than previously suspected.

A new species, Palaeortyx volans n. sp., of Phasianidae (Aves: Galliformes) is described from the Neogene vertebrate assemblage of the Gargano (Italy). The Gargano fossil vertebrate association has been well known since 1971, and it is considered to be an island fauna because of the high degree of endemism shown by different taxa. The original description of the fossil avifauna of Gargano referred all the phasianid specimens to Palaeortyx grivensis, a fossil species described form the Miocene (MN7+8) of La Grive-Saint-Alban (France). The present study reveals the differences between Palaeortyx volans n. sp. and the other species of Palaeortyx described until now. The new species described herein represents the smallest species of the genus known, except for P. joleaudi from La Grive-Saint-Alban. The systematic position of P. grivensis from La Grive-Saint-Alban is supported. Morphometric analysis of the fossil remains of P. volans n. sp. suggests good flying capabilities and an ecology similar to that of the recent Coturnix coturnix. These features allowed P. volans n. sp. to colonize isolated islands such as Gargano, which are normally not inhabited by short-distance flyers like the phasianids.

During the last few years, we have worked on the systematics and paleobiology of the South American and Antarctic fossil penguins. As a result, we have obtained new data about their past biodiversity. Concerning South American fossil penguins, particularly the Tertiary ones, we can point out that, based on phylogenetic and morphometric analyses practiced on skulls and appendicular skeleton, we recognised three non taxonomic groups, partially in agreement partially with the systematic scheme proposed by Simpson: Paraptenodytinae, Palaeospheniscinae and Spheniscinae. These species are recorded exclusively from South America and morphologically have more resemblance with the living species than the fossil penguins from others regions of the Southern Hemisphere. This suggests that the evolutionary and biogeographical history of the penguin fauna of Argentina, Chile and Peru followed different routes from those of Antarctica, New Zealand and Australia.

Despite a long history of research, relationships within fossil and extant Sphenisciformes remain unclear. This is largely because most fossil species were described on the basis of either the tarsometatarsus or humerus. Neither of these elements is particularly phylogenetically informative, and the extent of intraspecific morphological variation also remains unknown. Herein we investigate a new approach – the use of artificial neural-net (ANN) technology – to determine whether either of these elements can be reliably used to identify extant species. The DAISY ANN system was able to recognise most species from either tarsometatarsal or humerus morphology, but its success rate improved when the species training sets were combined into generic groups, indicating the need for larger image libraries. Our preliminary results suggest that these elements can allow reliable identifications for most taxa, but that the tarsometatarsus is on the whole a better element for this purpose. These results also demonstrate the potential for artificial neural-net technology to address problems in avian taxonomy.

Form and function of the skull of Recent and fossil genera of available Spheniscidae are analysed in order to infer possible dietary behaviors for extinct penguins.Skull and mandible shapes were compared using the Resistant-Fit Theta-Rho-Analysis (RFTRA) Procrustean method. Due to the availability and quality of the material, this study was based on six living species belonging to five genera (Spheniscus, Eudyptula, Eudyptes, Pygoscelis, and Aptenodytes) and two Miocene species: Paraptenodytes antarticus (Moreno and Mercerat, 1891) and Madrynornis mirandus Acosta Hospitaleche, Tambussi, Donato & Cozzuol. Seventeen landmark from the skull and five from the mandible were chosen, including homologous and geometrical points. Morphological similarities among RFTRA distances are depicted using the resulting dendrograms for UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic average) cluster analysis. This shape analysis allows the assessment of similarities and differences in the skulls and jaws of penguins within a more comprehensive ecomorphological and phylogenetic framework. Even though penguin diet is not well known, enough data supports the conclusion that Spheniscus + Eudyptes penguins specialize on fish and all other taxa are plankton-feeders or fish and crustacean-feeders. We compared representative species of both ecomorphological groups with the available fossil material to evaluate their feeding strategies. Penguins are the most abundant birds, indeed the most abundant aquatic tetrapods, in Cenozoic marine sediments of South America. The results arising from this study will be of singular importance in the reconstruction of those marine ecosystems.

Since a review of the Tertiary birds of Africa 30 years ago by Rich (1974), a great wealth of new data and new interpretations have augmented this fossil record, hitherto still relatively poor when compared with that of northern continents. A growing amount of new fossils is coming from hominid localities, now extending as early as the Late Miocene. Recently found bird fossils from the Late Miocene of Chad and Ethiopia are described here. They come respectively from several localities of Toros Menalla (Djurab Desert, Chad), dated ca 7 Ma, several localities of the Western Margin of the Middle Awash (Afar rift, Ethiopia), dated 5.6-5.8 Ma, and a locality of the Central Awash Complex of the Middle Awash, dated ca 5.2 Ma. 19 different taxa in 11 families are identified, essentially aquatic birds except for part of the fossils from one Ethiopian locality, ALA-VP-2. The bird assemblages from the three groups of localities by age and location provide some paleoenvironmental indications. Several taxa are new, or are new to Africa, and several are the earliest fossil records of a modern genus or lineage. Three extinct taxa are represented: the large darter Anhinga cf. A. pannonica, a new species of a giant saddlebill stork, genus Ephippiorhynchus, and a swan Afrocygnus chauvireae. Families with an extremely scarce record worldwide are represented here (Pandionidae, Heliornithidae). Comparisons are made which reveal some similarities between the Chadian and Ethiopian sites, as well as with Late Miocene localities in Kenya, Tunisia and Libya. At a larger scale, from the Mio-Pliocene of Africa, Leptoptilos falconeri and Anhinga cf. A. pannonica were also of Eurasian distribution, while Pavo sp. and Heliopais cf. H. personata are now typical of the Oriental Region. These represent important zoogeographical links between Africa and Eurasia at that period, compared with the relations observed today between the non-passerine birds of the Paleotropical (=Ethiopian) and Oriental regions.

The Pliocene locality of Ahl al Oughlam is situated at the southeastern limit of the city of Casablanca, in Morocco, on an ancient seashore of the Atlantic Ocean. It has yielded a very rich vertebrate fauna (macro- and micromammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes) including both terrestrial and marine forms. On the basis of biostratigraphy, the fauna has been dated at about 2.5 Ma, which corresponds to the latest Pliocene. The avifauna is very diverse and includes birds belonging to twelve different orders. In this paper we describe only the Struthionidae and the Pelagornithidae. Ostriches are represented by a large-sized form, referred to the extinct species Struthio asiaticus Milne-Edwards, and its eggshells, of struthioid type, are comparable to those of the recent species Struthio camelus, but thicker. The Pelagornithidae, giant marine birds with bony pseudoteeth, are represented by an extinct species of the genus Pelagornis. As far as we know, this species was probably the latest representative of the order Odontopterygiformes.

Australia’s largest megapode was Progura gallinacea De Vis, 1888, from Plio-Pleistocene deposits in southeastern Queensland. A second species, P. naracoortensis van Tets, 1974, from southeastern South Australia, was initially distinguished by different leg proportions and size; it was later suggested that there might be only a single, sexually dimorphic species. An examination of extensive collections of unstudied material from the Naracoorte Caves indicates that there is only a single species, with size differences related to both moderate sexual dimorphism and individual variation. Comparisons of these specimens with the three living Australian megapode taxa show that the Progura is not separable from the modern genus Leipoa. The possibility that Progura gallinacea is the megafaunal representative of the living Leipoa ocellata Gould, 1838 (Malleefowl) is discussed.

Avian remains from the Late Palaeolithic Djuktai Cave (15000 – 740 years B.P.) are represented by more than 700 bird bones. We identified 65 species from 10 modern orders. The most abundant are remains of the Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus), and Ptarmigan (L. mutus). The remains of Ducks (Anatidae), Waders (Scolopacidae), and Thrushes (Turdus spp.) are less numerous. Except for a few cases, most avian species identified represent the fauna of open-land habitats, for example Otis tarda. In modern faunas these birds are inhabitants of steppe landscapes which are absent in the Aldan basin now. Thus the presence of these species indicates that there was a steppe near the Cave at the end of the Pleistocene. In addition, some of the Waterfowl bones recovered have cut-marks made by Palaeolithic man.

During some 40 years’ research, ten species of gadfly petrel, Pterodroma spp., have been reported from Holocene fossil assemblages from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Statistical analysis of the assemblages’ species composition and a critical appraisal of all claimed identifications have resulted in a re-assessment of fossil Pterodroma diversity prior to human arrival. Three species are confirmed as original breeding residents; the endemic Pterodroma magentae and P. axillaris, and the undescribed extinct Pterodroma sp.1. Additionally, P. nigripennis is confirmed as a vagrant. Possible records of further vagrant species, P. inexpectata, P. macroptera or P. lessonii and P. neglecta cannot yet be confirmed.

This paper is a review of the characteristics, including timing, geographic distribution and severity, of the Late Pleistocene extinction among continental birds, and an evaluation of the suggested reasons for it. The analysis shows that the Late Pleistocene avian extinctions correlate well with the mammalian megafaunal extinction with respect to severity and timing, and that many of the extinct birds were probably directly or indirectly dependent on the mammalian megafauna. A large proportion of the extinct bird species had life history traits that would have made them vulnerable to human predation.

The present study provides an attempt to evaluate some morphological adaptations for terrestrial locomotion in the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia). The Little Owl (Athene noctua), which is commonly considered a relatively generalised member of the genus, has also been examined for comparisons. Morphological features of the hind limb of the Burrowing Owl revealed by this analysis are interpreted as a consequence of adaptations for high-speed terrestrial locomotion and probably for digging. These adaptations are expressed, for example, in the elongation and thinning of the distal limb elements, promotion of the rotational expanse of the shank and foot, and shifting of muscle bellies in a proximal direction. However, level of the morphological modifications is greatly limited by a necessity to retain basic functional morphological specificity of the hind limb in these taxa. These adaptations, at least in owls, appear to be effective “tools” for prey capture. Some results of the current study can be partly extrapolated to other avian groups because of the fact, that some adaptations of hind limb morphology, associated with a terrestrial life-style, are universal.