. Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Michigan Ornithological Club; Birds. Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Fossil Birds—A Brief Review of Present Knowledoe. IN onr study of ornithology it may be well for us to look a few moments into the past and learn something, if pos- sible, of the former existence of biid-life. When did birds make their first appearance? What other animals came into existence with them? Which of the grand divisions of earth-history saw their coming? Did they advance from a lower order, or did they suddenly mount upon the wing in their full-fledged g
. Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Michigan Ornithological Club; Birds. Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Fossil Birds—A Brief Review of Present Knowledoe. IN onr study of ornithology it may be well for us to look a few moments into the past and learn something, if pos- sible, of the former existence of biid-life. When did birds make their first appearance? What other animals came into existence with them? Which of the grand divisions of earth-history saw their coming? Did they advance from a lower order, or did they suddenly mount upon the wing in their full-fledged glory? These are but a few of the questions which geology tries to an- swer. I assume that you are familiar with the latter subject, and know that the science of geology treats of the history of the earth as recorded in the rocks, and tries to explain the causes of tlie many kinds of rock-form- ation we see around us. You know that. Peop. C. a. Whittemoee. students have carefully examined such rec- ords, and have constructed a chart of geo- logical history. The inconceivable geons of time indicated can not be measured in years, but they can be measured relatively. One period may be seen to be much shorter or longer than the one just before or fol- lowing. Certain features of the rocks occur in such regular succession that a science may be built around them, and the facts so observed may be announced as the laws of the world. The succession of life is regular from the earliest times. Some life-forms may be omitted in different localities, but the order of succession is never reversed. By examination and comparison of fossils, chiefly, this history already referred to has been divided into five principal eras, name- ly, Eozoic or Dawn Life, Palaeozoic or Ancient Life, Mesozoic or Middle Life,, Cenozoic or Ltecent Life,, and Psychozoic or Age of Mind. They are again sub- divided into seven ages, namely, Archaean or Age of Eozoon^ Silurian or Age of Livertehrates, Devonian or Age
Size: 1338px × 1868px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1897
