Summary

This episode all about flightless birds, and about the evolutionary processes that lead to flightlessness.

Flightlessness in birds is, in my opinion, a fascinating scientific topic. And so here we are with this episode.

Alive on the planet today, there are about 60 bird species that can’t fly. That’s only about 0.54 percent of the world’s approximately 11,000 species.

It turns out there were way more flightless bird species out there before humans started exploring and colonizing every corner of the Earth. It wasn’t just the Dodo that was killed off by people.

In today’s episode, we’ll look at the wonderful diversity of flightless bird species—in both the present and the past.

We’ll also talk about conservation and—perhaps the most interesting thing—the evolutionary process that leads to flightlessness. How does this weird thing happen in nature? What causes a bird species to give up its greatest superpower?

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Research Citations

• Simultaneous Wing Molt as a Catalyst for the Evolution of Flightlessness in Birds
• Predictable evolution toward flightlessness in volant island birds
• Anthropogenic extinctions conceal widespread evolution of flightlessness in birds
• Repeated evolution of flightlessness in Dryolimnas rails (Aves: Rallidae) after extinction and recolonization on Aldabra
• A genetic signature of the evolution of loss of flight in the Galapagos cormorant
• Gradual evolution towards flightlessness in steamer ducks

Photos

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