All ABOUT BIRDS
Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan, dinosaur palaeontologist, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
Monday 25–Friday 29 January < 11.15 am < COURSE FEES R575; Staff and students R290
Today we marvel at over 11 000 different types of bird that come in an explosion of different sizes, colours and habits. But have you ever pondered the question of the ‘where do birds come from’, or in other words, ‘how did they evolve’? Or perhaps you’ve wondered about whether the egg or the chicken came first?
In this five-lecture course we take a deep dive into these and other fascinating questions about the traits we think of as typical of modern birds, like feathers, or the ability to fly. It will become clear that the answers are complex and that many of the so-called characteristics of birds pre-date the origins of birds. We will also discuss how the fifth mass extinction event that famously destroyed all the non-avian dinosaurs in essence shaped the modern diversity of life on Earth, including birds.
Lecture titles
1. What came first, the chicken or the egg?
2. Bird ancestors, feathers and flight
3. Early birds and the fifth mass extinction event
4. The rise of modern birds
5. The future of birds
Recommended reading
Chinsamy-Turan, A. 2021. Dinosaurs of Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa.
Chinsamy-Turan, A. 2021. Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Life. Penguin Random House South Africa.
TO BOOK: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/performance.aspx?itemid=1602819392