Scientists Release Family Tree of Birds
December 17, 2014| |
A consortium of scientists released the most comprehensive family tree of birds ever reported, containing genetic information from 48 species showing how modern bird lineages arose and flourished after the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs.
The study elucidated the evolutionary relationships of modern bird groups and revealed some genetic information on bird traits such as singing, toothlessness, colorful feathers, and color vision. The research found singing evolved independently in songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds and showed that the set of about 50 genes involved in birdsong is similar to those involved in human speech.
The species included penguins, falcons, eagles, woodpeckers, owls, vultures, pelicans, cranes, crows, hornbills, cormorants, hummingbirds, pigeons, ducks, chickens, turkeys, ostriches, finches, loons, flamingos, swifts, and even the White-throated Tinamou.
Read more at http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6215/1308.short.
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