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A Feathered Tale
Along with many, well-preserved skeletons of Confuciusornis, scientists have also found evidence of feathers. Like those of modern-day birds, these feathers are believed to have been exceptionally strong, remarkably light, and amazingly intricate. They covered the Confuciusornis' large wings, an important factor in this bird's flight. But these feathers may have served another purpose, too. Some specimens had two long streamer-like feathers, which may have been used in courtship—just as the male peacock displays its colorful tail feathers to attract a mate. In fact, of all animal body coverings, feathers display the most diversity and serve the widest range of functions. Another example is the penguin, whose thin, short feathers work like a wet suit, insulating it from the cold. Feathers can also help camouflage a bird, like the wild grouse whose plumage changes with the seasons, allowing it to blend in with its habitat.
Confuciusornis ("Confucius bird")
Locality found: eastern Asia
Age: Early Cretaceous, 120 mya
Size: 8-12 inches long
Diet: plants (and possibly fish)
Characteristics: beak, no teeth, short tail, and large wings
Significance: The earliest known toothless, beaked bird.
Birds are living:
dinosaurs
fish
mammals
Correct!
Birds are descendants of small carnivorous dinosaurs. Unlike terrestrial dinosaurs, they survived a mass extinction 65 million years ago that wiped out over half of Earth's plant and animal species. Today, there are more than 18,000 species of birds.
Confuciusornis was the first bird to appear on Earth.
Fiction
Birds appeared in the Late Jurassic, thousands of years before Confuciusornis. Unlike birds today, the first birds had both tooth and long tails.
Paleontologists have found hundreds of complete fossil skeletons of Confuciusornis, some even with soft tissue impressions!
Sterling Nesbitt, Paleontologist