Few subjects in evolutionary theory have posed such intriguing puzzles for so long as the origin of birds. Evidence of avian beginnings has been elusive in the fossil record because birds' light, ...

Modern birds are the living relatives of dinosaurs. Take a look at the features of flightless birds like chickens and ostriches that walk upright on two hind legs, or predators like eagles and hawks ...

Wings may be the obvious choice when studying the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but a pair of Yale paleontologists ...

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Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Fossil discoveries unlock chapters of our planet’s storied ...

Navaornis hestiae (center) documents a previously unknown intermediate stage in the evolution of the central nervous system between the earliest birds (like Archaeopteryx on the left) and living birds ...

The study found that bird species who nest in tree cavities have independently evolved heightened aggression across lineages, particularly in females. Scientists have long wondered whether evolution ...

The woodpecker is a unique bird species that has gone through some mysteriously acquired adaptations since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Fossils tell us, without any explanations of course (because ...

White-throated rail. Charles J Sharp via CC BY-SA 4.0 Around 136,000 years ago, the Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean was inundated by a major flood that wiped out all the terrestrial animals that ...

Scientists have long wondered whether evolution would follow the same path if history had a chance for a “do-over.” New research suggests that it does, when it comes to the brain and its regulation of ...