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October 12, 2008 10:25:04 AM CDT

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Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

Posted Jun 26, 08 9:45 PM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – A five-year study of bird DNA is turning the world of ornithology on its head. The study revealed such drastic new information about the evolution of birds that dozens will need new scientific names, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Notable finds: Falcons are not related to hawks or eagles; hummingbirds—colorful daytime creatures—evolved from the drab nocturnal nightjar; and parrots are more closely related to songbirds than thought.

The study “pretty much flies in the face, no pun intended, of the traditional thoughts of how birds are related,” says one of the lead authors at Chicago's Field Museum. She says the findings—which will require major revisions of biology books and birders’ field guides—are comparable to learning that your cousin is actually your brother.

Source Chicago Sun-Times

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A hummingbird perches next to a flower at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve near Monteverde, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 22, 2007.   (AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)
A hummingbird known as 'Collared Inca' flies on San Tadeo, northwest of Quito, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2007.   (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
George the peregrine falcon soars over San Francisco Bay as scientists remove eggs laid by Gracie, George's mate, Friday, March 30, 2007, in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
In this 2007 file photo, George the peregrine falcon soars as he watches scientists remove eggs laid by his mate underneath the lower deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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DNA  • evolution  • birds  • scientific research  • scientific discoveries  • Field Museum


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