The article says two water birds, Vegavis and Asteriornis, were identified above the iridium layer after the Yucatan impact 66 million years ago.
Their small size, beaks, hollow bones and waterside habitats may have helped them avoid fires, mature quickly and fly from devastated areas while feeding on long-lasting seeds.
Most bird lineages still died out, especially tree-dwelling species, but these survivors are presented as ancestors of modern birds after years of darkness ended and plant life recovered.
Could today's birds survive another global cataclysm, or have they lost their ancestors' key survival traits?
Why did beaked birds survive the asteroid winter when other small, feathered dinosaurs did not?