Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Most phylogenies exist in academic papers and remain difficult to interpret. Cornell’s Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer puts ...

Professor Emily Jane McTavish and colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have mapped the evolution of every known bird species. They created a complete evolutionary tree of bird species by ...

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 ...

Fossils reveal that prehistoric cicadas’ wings evolved to help them evade hungry predators with feathers and beaks, scientists say. By Jack Tamisiea Today, few critters are as abundant as cicadas.

(THE CONVERSATION) People typically think about evolution as a linear process where, within a species, the classic adage of “survival of the fittest” is constantly at play. New DNA mutations arise and ...

The study of palaeontology has long provided a window into the dynamic evolutionary history of dinosaurs and their avian descendants. Recent research has uncovered intricate details regarding the ...

These characteristics highlight the role of mosaic evolution in early bird development. Notably, Baminornis zhenghensis has a short tail ending in a compound bone called the pygostyle, a feature also ...

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 ...