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Extensive bird family tree rewrites some history

Unexpected pattern of evolution found across hemispheres

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

The most ambitious effort yet to trace the evolutionary history and geography of living birds is ruffling the feathers of some old ideas.

BIRD FAMILY TREE In a new avian family tree, the white-crested hornbill and its relatives diversified at a stately pace despite the burst of rapid speciation among their cousin lineage of woodpeckers.