{"id":310801,"date":"2026-01-30T02:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T02:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/310801\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T02:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T02:32:13","slug":"new-online-tool-charts-evolution-of-every-known-bird-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/310801\/","title":{"rendered":"New Online Tool Charts Evolution of Every Known Bird Species"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ornithologists with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have stitched together the most complete avian evolutionary tree ever, unveiling surprising relationships and offering bird lovers the illustrated Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer<\/a> to trace lineages and evolutionary milestones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"European<\/p>\n

European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster). Image credit: Rashuli \/ CC BY 2.0.<\/p>\n

Understanding avian phylogeny is a fundamental aspect that underpins most ornithology research.<\/p>\n

But with more than 11,000 bird species in the world, organizing the available phylogenetic trees into a single synthetic depiction, and keeping it current, has long challenged ornithologists.<\/p>\n

The Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer uniquely addresses these challenges by staying current with the latest research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tool combines centuries of bird research with computational tools to create an engaging and interactive resource that tells the story of how birds evolved,\u201d said Dr. Eliot Miller, a researcher with American Bird Conservancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew evolutionary relationships are constantly revealed. We will release an updated Phylogeny Tool annually, thus providing a comprehensive phylogenetic dataset that syncs with current taxonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tool greatly benefits science,\u201d said Dr. Pam Rasmussen, a researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire tree of life for birds, built on the latest phylogenetic research, is now an interactive and downloadable dataset from Birds of the World that will stimulate endless questions and deeper research.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tree is a vital entry point for answering so many questions, such as how evolutionary history may have influenced beak shape, wing length, foraging habits, habitat preferences, or other traits in birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBirders will be excited by the Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer\u2019s built-in personalization,\u201d said Dr. Marshall Iliff, also from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy logging into the platform, birders can visualize the diversity of their eBird life list.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUsers can also zoom into different parts of the tree to examine their birding history in the context of bird orders, families, and genera, revealing evolutionary patterns in the species they\u2019ve observed and highlighting gaps they might want to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, a birder\u2019s life list becomes a personal journey through evolutionary history, showing not just what they\u2019ve seen, but how those species fit into the grander story of avian evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUsers of this tool are bound to encounter a few surprises. For example, how can downy woodpeckers in North America look so much like hairy woodpeckers, and yet not be closely related?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do falcons, despite being fierce hunters like hawks and eagles, actually belong on completely different branches of the family tree?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTaxonomic puzzlers like these will give anyone seriously interested in birds a lifetime of wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ornithologists with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have stitched together the most complete avian evolutionary tree ever, unveiling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[27375,18,8101,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-310801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-bird","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-evolution","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115981709695961968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}