Initially, presbyornithids were believed to present a mix of characters shown by waterbirds,shorebirds andflamingos and were used to argue for an evolutionary relationship between these groups,[5] but they are now generally accepted to bewaterfowl closely related to modern ducks, geese, andscreamers.[6] They were generally long-legged, long-necked birds, standing around one meter high, with the body of a duck, feet similar to awader butwebbed, and a flat duck-like bill adapted forfilter feeding. At least some species were social birds that lived in large flocks and nested in colonies, while others likeWilaru were terrestrial and territorial.[6]
Specimens of presbyornithids have also been discovered from theLance Formation ofWyoming.[7] Other possibleEocene presbyornithids includePresbyornis mongoliensis fromMongolia,Proherodius oweni andHeadonornis hantoniensis fromEngland with the partial rightscapulaBMNH PAL 4989, butP. oweni is now considered asAvesincertae sedis,[8] and the two other taxa are now referred to as stem group representatives of thePhoenicopteriformes.[9][10]
^Hope, S. (2002). "The Mesozoic radiation of Neornithes". In Chiappe, L.M.; Witmer, L.W. (eds.).Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 339–388.ISBN978-0520200944.
