Over the years, scientists have learned about literally thousands of different bird species, and each one sports a distinctive beak shape. But why do bird beaks come in so many different shapes and ...

From toucans to hummingbirds, the varying shapes and sizes of bird beaks show evolution in action. Beaks are versatile, allowing birds to eat, regulate their temperature, and sing; these survival ...

The finches that call Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands home are biological rock stars, as they provided a key piece of evidence for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. One reason for this is how new ...

Few people have the tenacity of ecologists Peter and Rosemary Grant, willing to spend part of each year since 1973 in a tent on a tiny, barren volcanic island in the Galapagos. Even fewer would have ...

Bird beaks come in almost every shape and size—from the straw-like beak of a hummingbird to the slicing, knife-like beak of an eagle. We have found, however, that this incredible diversity is ...

With no humans to leave behind scraps, this urban bird evolved and developed a longer beak, which shrank again once people ...

A new bird fossil helps scientists better understand convergent evolution of complex anatomy and provides new insights into the evolution of face and beak shape in a forerunner of modern birds.

Confuciusornis was a crow-like fossil bird that lived in the Cretaceous ~120 million years ago. It was one of the first birds to evolve a beak. Early beak evolution remains understudied. Using an ...