Re: What really happened 65 Ma ago (not a joke)

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> > Firstly, almost all birds did die out.
>
> Unknown...Just the facts, Sir.

OK. All known Cenozoic birds belong to Neornithes. In the Maastrichtian 
other groups, like Enantiornithes (*Avisaurus*) and whatever the 
non-ichthyornith of Maastricht was, still existed. This is consistent with 
only Neornithes surviving the impact, and clearly shows that all other bird 
clades died out sometime between the end-Maastrichtian and the... let's say 
middle to late Paleocene (Itaboraí, Murgon, various places in North America 
and Europe, not counting marine sites that could have preserved 
ichthyornithian remains).

> > Secondly, why should all birds have
> > been out in the open.
>
> Cart before the horse: Mass extinction event occurred...best known
> mechanism is radiation...birds must have been vulnerable...therefore,
> all surviving birds must have found cover.
>
> Circularity.

It's not a circle because the next question in the line follows: Is it 
plausible that enough birds had indeed found cover? Considering the fact 
that we're not talking about albatrosses or gastornithids but about, 
ecologically speaking, chickens and ducks, I think it is plausible.