What is this bird

[scott74]

[caterpillar]

No bird for me

[Rockwood]

That's actually a brachiopod. It will be difficult to identify further with such a small amount being exposed. 

Some of these do rather resemble a bird. The form allowed them to feed in a current. 

[minnbuckeye]

Likely  some sort of spirifer brachiopod similar to this:

 

[scott74]

No it's a bird

[Kane]

I'm sorry, but I am in agreement with the others that you have a brachiopod. 

This would not be how a bird preserves in the fossil record. You have not yet told us where this was found, which might also lend further credence to the brachiopod identification.

[scott74]

Bloomington indiana  I am new to this what I mean by that is I have been collecting strange rocks for 25 yrs but just recently got them all out and looking at them it had feathers that just turned to dust when I was trying to remove more of the sandstone 

[Kane]

That area is far too old for winged vertebrates. It would be a marine environment, likely Mississippian in age. Those are not feathers as feathers would only preserve as a trace film. You will likely find other marine invertebrates in your local rock there. 

 

Here is a bedrock map of your state:

[scott74]

All I do every day all day is dig in the ground putting in fiber optic cable I have fond allot of stuff I will look but I think I have a few of what your saying this is but it's not

[Kane]

Have a look at the map I posted above. Science is on the side of declaring your find a brachiopod in this case.

[scott74]

Ok well sounds good to me so you have been at this for awhile then so show me a pic of what I have cause I have been searching for months and only 1 I can find is in a museum and they say there's is a bird 

[scott74]

You know what science is it's people telling you what they want you to know they gave a map to Columbus 1 time too and the world isn't flat 

[Kane]

One of our members above posted an example of a complete brachiopod. Perform a Google image search for brachiopods, and you will find plenty of examples. Morphologically, where you are seeing feathers are actually plications of the shell. The shell is incomplete.

 

[scott74]

So I guess it's not possible that it was dry land before it was covered with water

[Kane]

4 minutes ago, scott74 said:

You know what science is it's people telling you what they want you to know they gave a map to Columbus 1 time too and the world isn't flat 

That's actually not science at all. Science proceeds via accumulation of evidence, falsification, and stringent testing. The empirical method -- the foundation upon which science rests -- was not effectively developed during the time of Columbus.

[scott74]

Did you look at my pic does it look anything like that 

[scott74]

If you zoom in close on my pic you can see a piece of a few feathers

[Kane]

It does indeed compare favourably with a fragment of brachiopod. As for ocean levels at that time, I have not encountered anything in the literature to suggest a significant drop in bathymetry. Even if that was the case, the first birds emerge in the evolutionary record around the Jurassic period; i.e., far too young for the rocks that are exposed in Indiana's bedrock.

[scott74]

In the same place I also found some marine animal's and petrified wood 

[scott74]

And a few petrified turtle heads

[Kane]

Highly unlikely you will find turtle heads.

 

I have provided the geologic basis of your area, and so now would be a good opportunity for you to read more into the geologic history of your state, including what fossils can be found there. The USGS and numerous paleontologists have committed a great deal of research into that area in the last 200 years, so you will have much luck in finding excellent literature. Bloomington is also known for having produced some spectacular crinoids.

[scott74]

 

[Kane]

Not seeing any fossils here, but some interesting sedimentary structures.

[scott74]

The thing on the ziplock bag is a sed formation 

[scott74]

I'm guessing you grew up in the city and never cut the head off of a snapping turtle it's a turtle head