Ancient Fossil Reveals Bird's Herbivorous History

Analysis of a 120-million-year-old fossil skeleton of the bird Jeholornis reveals the earliest known evidence of leaf-eating birds, marking the earliest known evolution of arboreal plant-eating among birds. The pheasant-sized Jeholornis, a member of the second most primitive lineage of known birds, had teeth and a long bony tail like its predatory, feathered dinosaur relatives. However, microscopic analysis of the fossilized residues in the bird's stomach demonstrates that Jeholornis was a leaf-eater, specifically consuming leaves from magnoliid trees. This finding sheds light on the close ecological relationships between birds and flowering plants, which are common today.