The evolution of birds: A history of birds in 48 genomes

ONE reason children are so fond of dinosaurs is that the giant reptiles are reassuringly extinct. They perished after an asteroid hit Earth 65m years ago. That collision kicked off the fifth great mass extinction in the history of the planet, and cleared the way for mammals to expand into a plethora of ecological niches that suddenly became vacant.But the dinosaurs did not disappear completely. Their descendants can be found gracing tree branches and dinner plates all over the world. Evidence fr...