Description

Bird bones
Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean)
Rancho La Brea Formation
Maricopa Tar Pits
Kern County, California, USA
Bird bones on 79mm matrix

Bird bones are generally rare in the fossil record so it’s interesting to find specimens from any time period. The late Pleistocene was not that long ago, geologically speaking, so an ornithologist can often identify a bone as long as it has one well-preserved bone end. Most species found in the tar still live today.

Here is an association of bones that should interest anyone who collects bird specimens or anyone who wants a sample from the tar pits of California.