As increasing numbers of Mesozoic avian fossils are discovered, analyses of these specimens are continually modifying our views of bird evolution. The biology of extant birds provides a framework for ...

Paleontologists in Japan have uncovered the fossilized remains of a 120-million-year-old flying dinosaur that’s seriously shaking up the bird family tree. Many of you have likely heard of ...

An artistic rendering of the early Cretaceous era fukuipteryx prima, a dino-bird with a tail feather-supporting skeleton, which was discovered by researchers in central Japan. (Masanori Yoshida) (CN) ...

The bird has a short tail ending in a pygostyle, an important aerodynamic innovation moving the center of mass forward toward the wings. Scientists described two fossilized birds from the Jurassic ...

Vertebrate tails are highly divergent in form and function. In birds, tails have evolved adaptations specific for flight and sexual selection. Extant bird tails are composed of the proximal region, ...