Tens of millions of years ago, a diverse array of bird species soared, swam, and thrived amid their scaly reptile cousins—and ...

Why it's awesome: The southern cassowary is one of the most prehistoric-looking birds on Earth. They are often likened to a modern-day dinosaur due to their massive size, vivid colouration and ...

A long-lost prehistoric bird species makes a triumphant comeback in its native land after being considered extinct.

Paleontologists have found the first complete skull of a controversial prehistoric bird. Known as Vegavis iaai, the bird thrived in late-Cretaceous Antarctica, then a tropical paradise. About a ...

Where it lives: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northeastern Australia What it eats: Fruit, seeds, fungi, insects, snails, fish, frogs, small birds, small mammals and carrion Why it's awesome: The ...

A once-extinct bird is laying eggs in the wild for the first time in nearly 40 years. Sihek, a now-endangered bird returned to the wild in 2024, has laid wild eggs in its new home in Hawaii, according ...

Analysis of 216 extinct species by biologists found birds endemic to islands, occupied ecologically specific niche, lacking flight, with large bodies and sharply angled wings were the ones likely to ...

Scientists can learn a lot about extinct animals by studying their footprints, bones and even teeth. But, while insightful, these artifacts don’t always paint a complete picture of an ancient creature ...

Looking to inform the conservation of critically endangered bird species, University of Utah biologists completed an analysis identifying traits that correlate with all 216 bird extinctions since 1500 ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. The IUCN Red List, which assesses the extinction risk of ...