Fossil Novembirb: Day 13
The phosphorate beds of Quercy, France preserve a wealth of fossils from the late Eocene and Oligocene epoch, about 35-25 million years ago. At that time, the early Paleogene jungle hothouse had ended. The climate was drying and cooling, and in parts of the world forests were giving way to savannah and scrubland, as was in Quercy. But that didn't stop birds. They started to take advantage of these new wide open spaces.
Aegialornis: An enigmatic bird that was closely related to swifts. Unlike swifts, it could perch and hold on to branches, but it was also an incredible flyer.
Quercypsitta: A unique group of not well known stem-parrots which likely resembled the earlier Halcyornithids, corvid-like stem-parrots from Europe and North America.
Palaeoglaux: Also known from the Messel Pit, this early relatively small owl may have been a diurnal hunter of small prey and had peculiar body feathers.
Sylphornis: A mysterious member of the piciformes with unique morphology, resembling jacamars and puffbirds.
Paraortyx: One of the earliest true phasianid galliforms, related to partridges, pheasants and chickens. It likely had a similar lifestyle to them, only taking flight when necessary.
Pelargopappus: An early relative of the long-legged secretarybird, this Eocene relative stalked the plains in a similar manner, stomping down on any prey it could catch.
Strigogyps: An omnivorous turkey-sized member of the cariamiform family, it is also known from the middle Eocene of Germany.
Archaeoganga: A relatively large and one of the earliest members of that wonderful desert bird clade, the sandgrouse.
