The article “The Origin and Diversification of Birds?” authored by Brusatte, S., et al.

, discusses
the evolutionary changes that paved the way for how we see birds today, as small, lightweight,
feathered, and winged-bodied animals. The authors also discuss the diversity and evolutionary
success of birds by examining fossils, living species, genealogies, and numerical analyses which
produced the molecular phylogenetic analyses of living birds, and the quantitative
macroevolutionary analyses which have revolutionized the understanding of the origins and
evolution of birds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the origin of birds was highly debated starting in
1861 when a bird skeleton was discovered that was dated from the Late Jurassic. This skeleton,
discovered by Richard Owen and was named Archaeopteryx, had possessed many bird-like
features, however, argued by Henry Huxley that the skeleton looked similar to small dinosaurs
instead, which supports the theory that there is an evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs,
and this was widely accepted for a while. The debate was restarted in the 1960s to 1980s when a
fossil of the bird-like dinosaur Deinonychus was found by John Ostrom, and by the 1990s, many
paleontologists accepted that birds and dinosaurs were evolutionarily linked. However,
ornithologists remained skeptical until the discovery of fossils, from thousands of dinosaurs,
which were covered in feathers, were found in the late 1990s, which had now convinced the
skeptics. Presently, it is widely accepted that birds evolved from dinosaurs since both groups
share features such as the skeleton, soft tissues, growth, reproduction, and behavior. Living birds
have a distinct skeleton that is suited for flight, additionally, they usually have a small body
which is an evolutionary trend that has been about for more than 50 million years beginning in
maniraptoran theropods. The reversion of the pubis and the associated forward movement of the
center of mass have also occurred in maniraptoran theropods. They also inherited their
bipedalism, hollow bones, long S-shaped neck, and hinge-like ankle from their deep dinosaurian
ancestors, while the wishbone and three-fingered hands of birds were derived from primitive
theropods, and the ability to fold the forearm against the body evolved in paravians.
Additionally, the most recognizable feature of birds, the feathers, is proposed to have likely
evolved from the earliest dinosaurs, or from the closest relatives of dinosaurs, which is a feature
that aids in thermoregulation, egg brooding, display, and is used to construct an airfoil for flight.
This article has provided information relating to the origin and diversification of birds in a very
detailed way, covering past obtain information, especially when breakthroughs were discovered.
The aim the authors made known throughout this article was to review what is currently known
about the origin, early diversification, and rise to dominance of birds, and the various lines of
evidence that piece together their story. The evolutionary linking of birds and dinosaurs has been
justified and the use of fossils and found skeletons has proved to show that the information
theorized is backed by research, hence allowing the theory of the evolutionary linking to be
accepted and the aim of the article to be clearly understood.

References:
Brusatte, S., O’Connor, J., & Jarvis, E. (2015). The Origin and Diversification of Birds. Current
Biology, 25(19), R888–R898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.003