Speciation

A species in the animal world is often defined according to whether two individual members, one male, one female, can produce fertile offspring, usually by sexual reproduction.

Every species shares an ancestor with every other species if you go back far enough in time. There are numerous branches to the evolutionary tree each representing the beginning of a process of change that led to every species living on the planet today.

The Kingfisher Family

Speciation describes the way in which new, distinct species arise in the course of evolution.

There is increasing evidence that the disparaging term "bird brain" may turn out to be a compliment rather than an insult.  This section looks at how evolution has led to a surpising level of intelligence in birds coupled with a skill set that is way beyond human capability.

Having looked at generic skills shared by many or most avian species, we move to the serious intellectuals of the bird world.  There is plenty of evidence  from the field and from controlled experiments of birds achieving high levels of performance in tasks that require unusual adaptive behaviour

What Do You Know About Speciation?

Here is another opportunity to go hands on with a range of activities that will check what you know and give you opportunities to look further into the lives of birds.