Fossils of alvarezsaurid dinosaurs show bird-like air sacs in their bones. Scans revealed hollow spaces connected to their ...

A newly discovered fossil in Antarctica has provided evidence of the oldest known modern bird—a species closely related to today’s waterfowl, about the size of a mallard duck, according to a ...

3D modeling shows how larger brains triggered changes in jaw muscles and joint mechanics that powered a flexible feeding system for modern birds. Modern birds are the living relatives of dinosaurs.

We are at a critical time and supporting climate journalism is more important than ever. Science News and our parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen ...

In the hellscape left by the asteroid, what gave the ancestors of modern birds an edge over their Cretaceous cousins? It’s a tough nut to crack, given how rare birds are in the fossil record.

D modeling reveals that as bird brains grew larger, it led to changes in jaw muscles and joint mechanics—enabling the development of a more flexible and efficient feeding system in modern birds.

Millions of years before modern birds evolved, their dinosaur ancestors were soaring through the air. Scientists are piecing together how these iconic reptiles took to the skies. Fossils reveal that ...

Birds that fill the world’s skies today are living dinosaurs, reminders of a distant and strange past. Decades of major new discoveries and studies have convinced researchers that there’s a direct ...

But in terms of classification, this raises a question: Since dinosaurs are reptiles, does that mean that birds are reptiles, ...

Modern birds are the living relatives of dinosaurs. Take a look at the features of flightless birds like chickens and ostriches that walk upright on two hind legs, or predators like eagles and ...

Animation of a bird skull, showing muscle forces. Credit: Alec Wilken, Casey Holiday As paleontologists discover more details about dinosaurs, the dividing line between them and modern birds ...