The Bird Family Tree: How all the Major Bird Groups are Related to Each Other.

This video project was completed as part of my honors capstone project for the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana. Special thanks to Dr. Doug Emlen for his support and mentorship through the project.

What is Evolution?
   • What is Evolution?  

What is Natural Selection?
   • What is Natural Selection?  

What is the Evidence for Evolution?
   • What is the Evidence for Evolution?  

How does new genetic information evolve?
Part 1:    • Part 1: How Does New Genetic Informat...  
Part 2:    • Part 2: How Does New Genetic Informat...  


If you want another video that covers how to read a phylogenetic tree, then I recommend this video.
   • Clint Explains Phylogenetics - There ...  

Link to all images used in video: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H...

The shape of the bird family tree depicted here is largely based on these sources.

Prum et al. 2015. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. https://www.nature.com/articles/natur...

Stiller et al. 2024. Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes. https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...

Kuhl et al. 2020. An Unbiased Molecular Approach Using 3′-UTRs Resolves the Avian Family-Level Tree of Life.
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Houde et al. 2019. Phylogenetic Signal of Indels and the Neoavian Radiation.
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/7/108

Suh. 2016. The phylogenomic forest of bird trees contains a hard polytomy at the root of Neoaves.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...