Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. GrrlScientist writes about evolution, ecology, behavior and health. On a remote island, a duck arrived hundreds of thousands of ...

Islands are natural laboratories where evolution can run rampant as plants and animals adapt to new environmental conditions and vacancies in the ecosystem. This creates all manner of unique animals, ...

Scientists have uncovered an extinct shelduck from the Chatham Islands that evolved shorter wings and stronger legs, adapting to a predator-free, windy environment. It vanished before the 19th century ...

Artistic reconstruction of a female Rēkohu shelduck (Tadorna rekohu) showing the darker plumage common in birds isolated on islands. Artwork by Sasha Votyakova ...