Protoavis specimens have been located in the Upper Triassic Dockum
Group sediments of West Texas. Protoavis predates Archaeopteryx
by 75 million years pushing the origin of birds to the Late Triassic and is
considered the oldest known bird (Chatterjee 1999). It is a small gracile
bird about the size of a pheasant with a strong narrow skull supported on
a elongated S-shaped neck. Several characteristics suggest that Protoavis
was a predatory bird. It had carnivorous teeth at the tip of the jaw with
the posterior part of the jaw probably covered in a horny sheath. The eyes
of Protoavis are frontally placed and very large as in present day owls,
therefore hunting may have occurred at dusk or in the dark. Unlike modern
raptors however, Protoavis lacks sharp talons and a compact hooked beak.
Due to this, it is likely that it fed on small or juvenille theropods or invertebrates.
Claw morphology suggests that Protoavis could climb trees. The development
of a supracoracoideus pulley indicates it may also have been able to fly up to trees.
Life restoration of Protoavis; the presence of feathers is inferred from quill knobs.
(Chatterjee 1999)