From this one migrant species would come many -- at least 13 species of finch evolving from the single ancestor. This process in which one species gives rise to multiple species that exploit ...

The birds have been named for Darwin, in part, because he later theorized that the 13 distinct species were all descendants of a common ancestor. Each species eats a different type of food and has ...

After birds began to evolve separately from dinosaurs at the end of the Jurassic period (around 150 million years ago), two groups of species developed. The Enantiorinthes, which had teeth and clawed ...

Birds have many features that distinguish them from other animals alive today, but their earliest ancestors looked noticeably different from the familiar creatures we’ve come to recognise. Although ...

New work on old specimens, and the discoveries of dinosaur and early bird species in the field, supported the idea that dinosaurs were the direct ancestors of birds. Many features and behaviours that ...

Did all dinosaurs inherit feathers from a common ancestor, or did feathers evolve multiple times in the group? Are they exclusive to birds and their closest relatives, or are they more widespread ...

New research has revealed that birds, reptiles, and mammals have developed complex brain circuits independently, despite sharing a common ancestor. These findings challenge the traditional view of ...

Scientists believe the 17 species of finches on the Galapagos Islands can be traced back to one common ancestor: the dull-colored grassquit. According to Darwinism, the grassquit adapted to the ...