The Origin of Birds
WEBQUEST10th grade
Index









Background Information
Introduction
Task
Resources
Time
Process
Conclusion
Rubric
Games
Q. What do dinosaurs have that no other
reptiles have?
Background Information


Have you ever really looked at a bird's feet? Most birds
have clawed toes and scales covering their feet. Birds also
lay eggs in nests. These three traits are found in reptiles as
well. However, birds have many other traits, such as
feathers and warm-bloodedness, that are not found in
modern reptiles.
One of the most famous fossils ever found is
Archaeopteryx, a small animal with clawed toes, scaly legs,
teeth, and feathered wings. Archaeopteryx was found in
rocks dating from the Jurassic Period, 150 million years
ago. Many scientists classify Archaeopteryx as a bird.
Background Information
continued

Other scientists point out that, if you took away the
feathers, this fossil would look just like Deinonychus, a
small theropod dinosaur. Scientists agree that
Archaeopteryx wasn't able to fly, partly because it had a
flat sternum (breastbone). Birds have a keeled sternum to
which flight muscles are attached.Yet Archaeopteryx clearly
had feathers. Was this fossil a dinosaur or a bird? This is
only one of the many questions paleontologists struggle
with when they study the evolution of birds.
Introduction


One of the first people to make a
connection between dinosaurs and birds
was Thomas Huxley, an English Biologist
contemporary of Charles Darwin in the 1800s.
In 1916, a Danish doctor named Heilmann wrote a
book titled The Origin of Birds, in which he listed the
similarities between the skeletons of theropod
dinosaurs and modern birds.
Introduction continued


Later fossil discoveries made these similarities more
striking. In the 1960s, an American named John Ostrom
found 22 features in theropods and birds that could not
be found in any other animal groups. However, new fossils
of birds and birdlike dinosaurs are being discovered every
year. Some of these fossils are changing perceptions of the
origins of birds.
Did birds evolve from theropods or another group of
dinosaurs? Or did birds and dinosaurs evolve from a
common ancestor much earlier in geologic time? Is
Archaeopteryx the first bird? When did feathers evolve and
how? Which came first, feathers or flight? These are some
of the questions you will explore in this WebQuest.
Task



Your job in this WebQuest is to form an opinion as
to the origins of birds.
You will have to find out what evidence supports the
theory that birds descended from theropod
dinosaurs.
You will have to identify the similarities
among birds and other groups of
animals.
Task continued



You will also learn about new fossils that provide
additional information about the evolution of birds.
You will prepare a table in which you compare and
contrast several fossils that may, or may not, be links
in the evolutionary history of birds.
Finally, you will use the information from your
Internet research and the table you have prepared to
answer the following question: are birds really
dinosaurs?
Resources



Archaeopteryx: An Early Bird. Visit this site to learn
about fossils of Archaeopteryx, a 150-million-year-old fossil from
Germany.You can find out why fossils of Archaeopteryx provide
strong phylogenetic links between birds and reptiles.
Aves: Fossil Record. Visit this site by the Museum of
Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley to learn about
the fossil record of birds. At this site you can find out about a
new bird fossil found in China and how it compares to
Archaeopteryx, a fossil of nearly the same age.
Are Birds Really Dinosaurs? At this DinoBuzz site you can
learn about the evidence that supports the theory that birds
are Theropod dinosaurs. You can read about why most
scientists accept the idea that birds and dinosaurs are related,
based on phylogeny and cladistics.
Resources continued



Dinosaurs and Birds:The Story. Visit this excellent site for an
interesting description of systematics, the science of evolutionary
relationships. This site discusses how scientists identify evolutionary
relationships among groups of organisms such as dinosaurs and birds. The
site includes a good history of thoughts on bird evolution, and some
evidence that shows that birds are not descended from dinosaurs.
Fossils from China Link Birds with Dinosaurs. Go to this National
Geographic site to read an article about new fossil bird discoveries in
China. Scroll down and click on full press release to read the entire article.
Scientists: Fossils prove that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Visit this
CNN.com site to read an article that supports the theory that birds are
descended from dinosaurs, based on two new fossils from China. The site
also discusses whether feathers evolved first, and flight second.
Resources continued


Dinosaur True Colors Revealed for First Time Go
to this National geographic website to find out that
pigments have been found in fossil dinosaurs for the first
time, a new study says.
It’s a Bird, It’s a …Dinosaur?
Go to this Scientific American magazine online site to
read an article about fossil birds. The article discusses
evidence for, and against, the theory that birds are
dinosaurs.
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/TreeOfLife.htm
Time

2 class periods; a total of 60 minutes for Internet
research, 20 minutes to prepare table and answer
question
Process

Now that you have completed your research on the
Internet, prepare a table that lists the bird and/or birdlike
dinosaur fossils that provide some evidence of the origins
of birds. In the left column, write the genus names of the
fossils you have studied. At the top of the rows, write in
the age of the fossil, where it was found, and why it is
important to the study of bird evolution. The table is
started for you below.
Table 1. Origins of Birds sample
Name of
Fossil
Age(millions of Location
years)
Important Facts
Archaeopteryx
150
Has clawed toes, scaly feet, wings,
feathers (bird characteristics); has
teeth, flat sternum (reptile
characteristics)
Germany
Once you have completed the table with information gathered
from the Internet, you should be able to answer the question: are
birds really dinosaurs?
Conclusion



In the process of completing this WebQuest, you’ve
become informed about the evidence linking birds with
dinosaurs, and about new fossil discoveries that challenge
the theory that birds evolved from theropods.You have
developed critical thinking skills and you have explored
the many different facts that relate to the question of the
origins of birds.You have read information to complete a
table about bird and birdlike fossils, and formed an
educated opinion as to the origins of birds.
Are birds really dinosaurs?_____________________
Explain________________________________________
Rubric
Table Presentation Rubric
At least five fossils were included
Table had at least four columns of
information.
Possible
Points
/10
Age and location of fossil given
/10
At least three pertinent facts given for
each fossil listed
/10
Information listed correct and relevant
to bird-dinosaur discussion
/10
Resources used listed
/10
Total Possible Points
/50
Teacher comments
References
http://www.fossilmuseum.net
 http://www.glencoe.com
Pictures:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Henry_Huxley
 http://www.nationalgeographic.com
 http://www.birds.cornell.edu
Games
 http://dinosaurgames.info/prehistoric-dinosaur/
 http://dinosaurgames.info/dinosaur-games/

A. Baby Dinosaurs.