"Revolutionary Genetic Discovery Unveils New 'Tree of Life' for Birds"
A landmark study of bird genomes has produced a clear picture of the bird family tree, revealing that most modern bird groups appeared within 5 million years after the extinction of dinosaurs. The study identified fundamental relationships among major bird groups, overturning previous ideas and revealing new groupings. It also unveiled a new bird grouping called "Elementaves" and confirmed a close relationship between passerines and parrots. The study placed a timescale on the bird family tree, showing that all living birds share an ancestor that lived just over 90 million years ago, with most modern bird groups emerging within a few million years after the end of the Cretaceous period. However, the relationships of the hoatzin, a distinctive bird species, remain a mystery.