Science and Society | The Story of Birds

Online

Birds live all around us, and we love them—whether we keep them as pets, are dedicated birdwatchers, or simply appreciate their beautiful songs and colorful plumage. There are over 10,000 species of birds that share our world, but their legacy goes far back in time, to the age of the dinosaurs. Paleontologist Steve Brusatte—author of the new popular science book The Story of Birds—will recount the remarkable story of birds: a 150 million year journey, which began with the evolution of birds from raptor dinosaur ancestors in the Jurassic Period, through many twists and turns of fate, as these flying marvels endured asteroid impacts and mass extinctions and changing climates, to reach the present day. The story of birds is one of resiliency and adaptability, and Steve will tell that tale—along with his own adventures of collecting fossils and discovering new extinct species—in this engaging talk for families and the general public.

Steve Brusatte is Professor of Paleontology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He has named and described over two dozen new species of dinosaurs and other fossils, and published over 200 research papers on the anatomy, genealogy, and evolution of extinct species. He is a keen popularizer of science and his books The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Story of Birds have been New York Times bestsellers, and translated into dozens of languages. He is the paleontology consultant for the Jurassic World film franchise and BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing a copy of their book from Browseabout Books. Call-in orders are accepted at (302) 226-2665 or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website.

The library's “Science and Society – Making Sense of the World Around Us” lecture series is co-organized and moderated by Fred Dylla, Executive Director Emeritus of the American Institute of Physics and author of Scientific Journeys, Linda Dylla, former public information officer at the Jefferson Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, and Colin Norman, the former News Editor at Science.

NOTE: this meeting is being conducted through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email the library.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.