I think it’s cool that some people focus on curing disease and some people focus on understanding what animals are up to and some people think about our place in the universe and how things came to be the way they are. People are driven by curiosity and I promise you you don’t want it any other way

How did birds evolve? The answer is wilder than anyone thought Discoveries in Jurassic rocks reveal that birds were adept fliers earlier than scientists realized.

How did birds evolve? The answer is wilder than anyone thought www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Bird sternum evolution facilitated the origins of powered flight Nature Ecology & Evolution - An in-depth analysis of the breastbone (sternum) of bird ancestors reveals its importance in the origin and evolution of flight in dinosaurs as they evolved into...

Research Briefing: Bird sternum evolution facilitated the origins of powered flight rdcu.be/eyTdn

Thrilled to share the final chapter of
‪@talialm.bsky.socia’s dissertation — just published!
This paper is the capstone of her PhD work and a major contribution to our understanding of the early evolution of birds and flight. 🦅
Way to go, Talia! 🥳

Diagram showing the evolutionary relationships of birds and their close extinct relatives, with icons marking notable evolutionary transformations in breastbone and flight anatomy.

Evolution of the sternum (breastbone) in birds and other pennaraptoran dinosaurs: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🪶🧪 (📷 @talialm.bsky.social et al.)

Enlargement of sternum traits facilitated the evolution of powered flight in birds - Nature Ecology & Evolution The extant avian sternum is highly adapted to powered flight, but understanding of its early evolution is hindered by patchy fossil representation and the fact that where preserved, sterna in near-bir...

The final chapter of my PhD is finally published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution! Extremely proud of this culmination of years of work on the avian sternum, and grateful to everyone who contributed. Please reach out if you'd like a PDF 🎉

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

a woodpecker with a red beak is standing next to a tree trunk Alt: a pileated woodpecker pecking a tree very hard

Our woodpecker grant is in! Who knows what will happen to it now... but it's really good! Congrats to a brilliant team: @dtobiansky.bsky.social, @talialm.bsky.social & Aki 🎉 🥳

A tiny floofball clad in sunset colors and black-and-white spots and stripes.

A spotted pardalote! 🪶

The colors and patterns on this stunning floofball remind me a lot of Aboriginal art.

It’s normally found high up in the canopy, but after sitting in place for a long time, unsuccessfully photographing fantails, I turned and found two near the forest floor in clear view.

Hi Blue Sky! Look at this fabulous lady I saw in a book today #feathereddinosaur