Study: Birds Were Nesting In The Arctic During The Cretaceous, Fossil Evidence Shows
The Arctic might evoke images of polar bears and seals, but 73m years ago it was a dinosaur stomping ground. Now fossil hunters say these beasts shared their turf with a host of different birds.
Researchers believe their discovery of more than 50 bird fossils from the Prince Creek formation in Alaska is the oldest evidence of birds nesting in polar regions, pushing back the date by more than 25m years. “The previous oldest evidence for polar nesting is a penguin colony from the Eocene of Antarctica [that lived about 46.5m years ago],” said Lauren Wilson, first author of the work from Princeton University.
More than 200 species of bird nest in the Arctic today, with the researchers saying they are crucial members of the ecosystem, helping with essential tasks such as pollination and seed dispersal. And the latest findings suggest their presence is nothing new.
“These new fossils fill a major gap in our understanding of bird evolution,” said Prof Patrick Druckenmiller, director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North and a co-author of the study published in the journal Science. While the earliest birds emerged in the Late Jurassic, about 150m years ago, the delicate nature of bird bones means such animals are rare in the fossil record. “Prior to this work, and with the exception of a few footprints, bird fossils weren’t known from Alaska,” said Druckenmiller.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/29/birds-were-nesting-in-the-arctic-during-age-of-dinosaurs-scientists-discover