Ancient bird molting sheds light on their survival amidst dinosaur extinction

Two recent studies shed light on the molting process in ancient birds and its potential role in the survival of modern birds. Fossils preserved in amber reveal a baby bird from 99 million years ago that exhibited a combination of precocial and altricial characteristics during molting, which may have contributed to the extinction of its group. Another study analyzing modern bird specimens suggests that fossil birds molted differently from their modern counterparts, potentially influencing their survival during the mass extinction event. These findings highlight the importance of molting in bird evolution and the factors that contributed to the survival of modern birds.