- 글로벌메뉴
- KOREAN
Korea Biodiversity Information System > Wildlife Resource > Bird Classes > Origin of Birds
Birds branched away from reptiles approximately 150 million years ago. Although academic research on the evolution of birds that fly is still insufficient, unlike research on animals that walk on land, it is known that birds evolved from dinosaurs that walked on two legs in the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era.
These dinosaurs had skeletons similar to those of birds and continued to evolve into Archaeopteryx, the ancestor of birds, which used their front legs in different ways when walking.
Archaeopteryx feathers consisted of an extended scaly part and an outer isolation layer as reptiles have, which is similar to what birds have now. The size of Archaeopteryx is estimated to have been as big as a raven or magpie. After a long time passed, birds obtained the ability to fly and exhibited great differences in the development of feathers and wings depending on the environment and their habitats.
The characteristics of modern birds emerged about 54 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period and in the third period of the Cenozoic Era.
