Christina Harvey uses wind tunnels at the UC Davis College of Engineering to study bird flight. Harvey is the recipient of a 2023 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. (UC Davis photo) ...

Modern birds capable of flight all have a specialized wing structure called the propatagium without which they could not fly. The evolutionary origin of this structure has remained a mystery, but new ...

Argentavis magnificens was so massive it should’ve stayed grounded. Yet, this giant prehistoric bird still ruled the skies of ...

While it had been assumed that unstable gliding was the key to agility in bird flight, a collaboration between aerospace engineers and biologists has revealed that stability plays a role. While it had ...

Modern birds evolved from ground-dwelling reptiles as their increasingly refined parenting skills led them into the trees, where they could better protect their young, proposes a researcher at the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Most bird species don’t fly above a few thousand feet in ...

Taxidermy birds are taking flight once again, attached to flapping-wing drones. The unusual project, led by researchers at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, is meant to create a ...

Slow-motion footage of baby birds helps scientists uncover how their ancestors took to the skies. Birds today make flight look effortless, but its evolution was complex. Scientists are still trying to ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

A bird has flown non-stop, apparently, from Alaska to the Australian state of Tasmania. And now this young bar-tailed godwit — a member of the sandpiper family — appears to have set a non-stop ...