Definitive fossil evidence for the extant avian radiation in the Cretaceous

A rare fossil of a bird from Antarctica flies into the eye of a storm. The fossil, believed to be a close relative of modern ducks and geese, lived towards the end of the Cretaceous about 70 million years ago. The suggestion that the line that leads to today's birds can be identified as distinct from other dinosaurs this early will be controversial. Until now, fossil evidence has indicated that ‘modern’ birds evolved only after the dinosaurs became extinct, 65 million years ago. Even though evidence from molecules suggests that modern orders of bird existed well before that date, this evidence has been hotly contested.