The Inner Bird: Anatomy and Evolution

by Gary W. Kaiser

Birds are among the most successful vertebrates on Earth. An important part of our natural environment and deeply embedded in our culture, birds are studied by more professional ornithologists and enjoyed by more amateur enthusiasts than ever before. However, both amateurs and professionals typically focus on birds’ behaviour and appearance and only superficially understand the characteristics that make birds so unique. The Inner Bird introduces readers to the avian skeleton, then moves beyond anatomy to discuss the relationships between birds and dinosaurs and other early ancestors. Gary Kaiser examines the challenges scientists face in understanding avian evolution - even recent advances in biomolecular genetics have failed to provide a clear evolutionary story. Using examples from recently discovered fossils of birds and near-birds, Kaiser describes an avian history based on the gradual abandonment of dinosaur-like characteristics, and the related acquisition of avian characteristics such as sophisticated flight techniques and the production of large eggs. Such developments have enabled modern birds to invade the oceans and to exploit habitats that excluded dinosaurs for millions of years. While ornithology is a complex discipline that draws on many fields, it is nevertheless burdened with obsolete assumptions and archaic terminology. The Inner Bird offers modern interpretations for some of those ideas and links them to more current research. It should help anyone interested in birds to bridge the gap between long-dead fossils and the challenges faced by living species.

Genres: Science, Nature

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Rari Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the level of detail and terminology the author provided. It was perfect in my opinion. It wasn't an anatomy textbook but it was so much more than pop science. He discusses special tendons, muscles and special bone shapes that allow particular species to excel at specific lifestyles. That was my favorite part, discussions about modern bird anatomy. Damn, our world is full of wonder isn't it? He also spends a lot of time with prehistoric bird ancestors, not my favorite part, but the author is so thorough and engaging it's still fascinating. Books on bird anatomy, osteology in particular are hard to find! It seems like it's peer reviewed journal articles or bust. I wish more publishers would release books of this caliper.

[Jack Samson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that this is an excellent book held back somewhat by not including enough diagrams and illustrations. However, reading this with my phone handy to look up pictures and information helped alleviate the problem. Along similar lines I might have appreciated an illustrated overview of avian skeletal anatomy early in the book. I felt like a lot of the terminology was not really explained adequately, but maybe I just needed to have a better understanding of bones in general before approaching the book. Overall a great read.