Bird diversification after dinosaur extinction

A four-year project has decoded and compared the entire genetic fingerprint of 48 bird species to represent all these lineages — including the woodpecker, owl, penguin, hummingbird and flamingo.  Researchers also compared these genomes with those of three other reptile species and humans.  They found that birdsong evolved separately at least twice. Parrots and songbirds gained the ability to learn and mimic vocal activity independently of hummingbirds, despite sharing many of the same genes.  The findings are important because some of the brain processes that are involved in bird singing are also associated with human speech.