Imagine zooming out on a giant family tree that includes every bird you have ever seen. Ostriches sprint across open plains, hummingbirds hover at flowers, penguins slice through cold seas, and eagles ...

Birds are the most diverse land vertebrate on the planet, and now scientists have constructed a complete evolutionary tree of the 11,000 or so known species. This data came from hundreds of studies ...

An enormous meteor spelled doom for most dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But not all. In the aftermath of the extinction event, birds—technically dinosaurs themselves—flourished. Scientists have spent ...

A part of the brain called the pallium is responsible for many complex functions. In mammals, the pallium is thought to be where the neocortex forms, and gives rise to the cerebral cortex and ...

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 ...

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 ...

Includes gatefold at back endpages, with illustrations and maps. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's location taken from its website. BIRD copy has bookplate: Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Nada ...

Evolution is the primary hypothesis, but the authors note there are other explanations that need to be ruled out, such as gene flow, when individuals from elsewhere, such as the mountain birds, enter ...