Explore Formation

 Chapter One: The gathering The sun rises on a new day, illuminating the open plains of a semi-arid savannah in an orange, golden light.  It is the end of the dry season. A small bird lands on a rock to rest. It preens itself and sings a little song. This sight is very normal. One could easily think it takes place on the Serengeti, or even the American prairie. But a closer look reveals everything. The little bird bears claws on its wing, and when it chirps, its mouth is clearly full of sharp teeth. This is a member of the enantiornitheans, or opposite birds, an ancient group of birds that no longer exist.     This story takes place during the Maastrichtian, the last age of the Cretaceous period and the Mesozoic era, the middle chapter in the history of life. The great era of reptiles. During this time, the continents had begun to take on their modern shapes, but there were several big differences. For instance, North America was nearly split in half vertically by a shallow interior