In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its ...

Maria McNamara is a palaeobiologist at University College Cork. Her current research is funded by the European Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland. Zixiao Yang is a PhD student in ...

Pterosaurs ruled the skies during the age of the dinosaurs, but scientists have long debated if they actually had feathers.Now we know. Not only did these flying reptiles have feathers, but they could ...

For sunbirds, all that shimmers is piping hot. The birds’ flashy, iridescent feathers heat up more than other types of feathers, possibly making it harder to stay cool in hot, sunny conditions. If so, ...

A few years ago, Maria McNamara was invited to Brussels by fellow paleontologist Pascal Godefroit and presented with an intriguing opportunity. At the time, they were collaborating on a study of an ...