Ichthyornis dispar

Different Fish Bird

Ichthyornis dispar

(Marsh, 1872)

Ichthyornis dispar is a small seabird that lives in great numbers along the coasts of the Inland Sea of Cretaceous North America. It flies on long wings above the sparkling surface of the water, waiting to catch a glimpse of the deeper sparkle of prey in the form of a fish or cephalopod. Upon spotting its meal, the I. dispar will fold its wings and angle its head downward. The large, heavy head pulls the rest of the body after it and the bird plummets downward like a dart. Unfolding its wings just before it hits the water, I. dispar will snap its toothy beak shut, capturing its slippery prey.

I. dispar competes with the larger pterosaurs like Pteranodon for fish and is prey to anything that can catch it, from dinosaurs to elasmosaurs.

Thanks to Toby White (for help figuring out the function of the incredably large head of Ichthyornis), to Berislav Krzic (for suggestions about Ichthyornis behaviors), and to Ray Stanford, of cource.

Other sites containing pertinent information:

T. Mike Keesey's Ichthyornis page (with a very nice picture)

DinoData's Ichthyornispage

The Rise of Birds by Sankar Chatterjee. Published in 1997 by Johns Hopkins University Press.