Birds

After ruling out diet, scientists discover the secret behind blue feathers lies inside how the feathers are made.

Why Are Some Feathers Blue?

New research into a long-puzzling feature of avian life shows there's more to color than meets the eye

The winged albatross

The Wandering Albatross and Global Warming

The giant oceanic birds are producing more and plumper chicks, at least for now

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Telomeres and Longevity in Zebra Finches

A study in birds confirms that protective caps on chromosomes predict a longer lifespan

A specimen of the non-avian dinosaur Sinosauropteryx, showing the ruff of simple protofeathers along the back and tail.

Dinosaurs of a Feather

Some researchers insist that birds are not dinosaurs, but do they have any evidence?

John Kress, a Smithsonian botanist, suggests Dominica's Morne Trois Pitons National Park for an evolution vacation.

A Smithsonian Botanist Suggests an Evotourism Site

We turned to John Kress, an expert on how plants and birds co-evolved over time, for his pick for an evolution vacation

Fireworks can startle birds so badly they become disoriented

Birds Have No Reason to Like Fireworks

New Year's Eve fireworks can badly startle and disorient birds

Cats and earthquakes were popular subjects this year.

Top Ten Science Blog Posts of 2011

Cats, zombies, earthquakes, chickens--our readers have an eclectic taste

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How to Turn a Dinosaur Into a Bird

Two classic bits of animation beautifully visualized the evolution of birds from dinosaurs

An early 19th century representation of Megalosaurus at the Crystal Palace gardens. Thomas Henry Huxley's work gave dinosaurs a much more bird-like look.

Huxley’s Apocryphal Dinosaur Dinner

Fossil lore says 19th century naturalist T.H. Huxley realized that birds were dinosaurs when he carved into a Christmas turkey, but what really happened?

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Hitchcock’s Primeval Birds

Paleontologist Edward Hitchcock was one of the first dinosaur track experts, but why did he insist that birds left the footprints?

A northern cardinal

The City Bird and the Country Bird

As in Aesop's fable, there are advantages and disadvantages for birds living in the city

Hawkmoths prefer columbines with long, slender spurs.

The Columbines and Their Pollinators: An Evolutionary Tale

New research provides insight into an evolutionary concept introduced by Charles Darwin

A pigeon's turn is very different from that of an airplane

How A Pigeon Is Like A Helicopter

The bird changes direction with its whole body

A reconstructed model of a young Tyrannosaurus at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Were these little tyrants covered in feathers?

Was Tyrannosaurus a Big Turkey?

A cast of the sauropod Diplodocus at the Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah. Our current understanding of sauropods like this differs greatly from hypothetical restorations of "living dinosaurs" in Africa.

Living Sauropods? No Way

Dinosaurs have long been rumored to still survive in the Congo Basin, but is there any truth to the tall tales?

The Thermopolis specimen of Archaeopteryx at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center

The Great Archaeopteryx Debates Continue

The 11th skeleton of Archaeopteryx

Paleontologists Unveil the 11th Archaeopteryx

Just in time for the 150th anniversary year of Archaeopteryx, paleontologists announce an 11th specimen of the dinosaur-like bird

There are 200 million European starlings in North America

The Invasive Species We Can Blame On Shakespeare

There are 200 million European starlings in North America, and they are a menace

Chickens at a Florida farmhouse museum

14 Fun Facts About Chickens

#5: With 25 billion chickens in the world, there are more of them than any other bird species

The skeleton of Xiaotingia (head is to the left)

An Ode to Archaeopteryx

The many fuzzy and feathery dinosaurs that have been discovered reveal one of the most magnificent evolutionary transformations in the history of life

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