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A dataset of the genomes of 363 species from the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project shows increased power to detect shared and lineage-specific variation, demonstrating the importance of phylogenetically diverse taxon sampling in whole-genome sequencing.

Cratonavis zhui, a bird from the Early Cretaceous of China, preserves a combination of non-avialan theropod skull features and a bird-like post-cranial skeleton.

The homology of digits across amniotes is debated. Here, the authors compare the developmental transcriptomes of digits across five divergent amniotes and show high evolutionary dynamism in expression profiles, with conservation of a distinct developmental identity only in the anterior-most digit.

In addition to major innovations in their locomotor system, early birds evolved highly derived skulls. Here, Wang et al. three dimensionally reconstruct the skull of a new enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous that illustrates the early avialan transitions in skull morphology and function.

A long-term field study establishes a link between reduced snowfall and bird and tree declines in montane Arizona. Excluding elk from experimental sites reversed these declines and also lowered nest predation. This experiment shows that climate change, operating through increased winter herbivory, can negatively affect diverse species occupying such ecosystems.

The transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds capable of powered flight represents a major evolutionary transition. Here the authors analyse 48 bird genomes and identify avian-specific highly conserved elements with roles in avian limb development.

Analysis of a unique global data set reveals how the species diversity of birds is affected by the properties of archipelagos and offers a way to test an influential theory. Has this improved our understanding of island biodiversity patterns?

Intranasal inoculation of BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice with the bovine H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus  results in rapid fatal disease characterized with high viral titers in lung and brain. Interestingly, only the C57BL/6J mice develop neurologic disease.

The authors use individual-based models to assess the contribution of frugivore-mediated seed dispersal to forest restoration. They show that the movement of large birds—which disperse seeds with higher carbon storage potential—is limited in landscapes with low forest cover (<40%).

Miller et al. present a disassociated rhamphotheca of a Cretaceous bird, which sheds light on the diet and developmental biology of some of the earliest birds. Exceptionally preserved fossils are rare but when soft tissue is preserved it can provide insight into the anatomy and behavior of extinct organisms.

Species classified as Critically Endangered are at greatest risk of extinction, and their preservation and recovery are crucial to meeting global biodiversity aims. This Review assesses the geographical and taxonomic distribution of Critically Endangered species, their threats, current and required conservation actions, and strategies to facilitate effective, coordinated conservation.

Species loss from ecological networks can impair network stability and ecosystem function. Here the authors simulate animal extinctions in interaction networks between plants and avian frugivores, showing that frugivore extinctions have comparatively weak effects on network structure, but strongly reduce seed-dispersal distance.

Climatic change is predicted to impact moisture-dependent ecosystems. Here Carroll et al. show that a combination of physical, biophysical and ecosystem processes determine the abundance and distribution of three bird species that feed on craneflies in blanket bogs.

Predation experiments using models of edible flies and stinging wasps provide some answers to a long-standing evolutionary puzzle in mimicry research.

Differential responses of plant and animal functional diversity to climatic variation could affect trait matching in mutualistic interactions. Here, Albrecht et al. show that network structure varies across an elevational gradient owing to bottom-up and top-down effects of functional diversity.

Genomic evolutionary rates are decomposed to identify the dominant lineages and genes driving rate variation across the phylogeny of birds.

Pressure ridges, a characteristic feature of Arctic sea ice, play an important role in the ecosystem but pose challenges to shipping. Here the authors use aircraft measurements to document a decline in both the frequency and height of these pressure ridges in recent decades.

Here, the authors develop software that uses photographs of birds to extract information on plumage UV reflectance. They use these data to show that UV reflectance is phylogenetically conserved and associated with the light environment.

Influenza A H5N1 is an increasing concern in cattle herds in the United States. Here, the authors use mathematical modelling to estimate the size of the current epidemic, predict states at risk in the future, and highlight gaps in data collection.

Local methods of explainable artificial intelligence identify where important features or inputs occur, while global methods try to understand what features or concepts have been learned by a model. The authors propose a concept-level explanation method that bridges the local and global perspectives, enabling more comprehensive and human-understandable explanations.

Field survey data from 1,034 bird species worldwide are used to show that species’ sensitivities to habitat fragmentation are more strongly related to their dispersal ability than to latitude and past habitat disturbance, and that variation in dispersal ability is in turn strongly associated with climate.

The shape of bird toe pads and foot scales can be used to infer their behaviour. Here, the authors examine fossil evidence of toe pads and scales, in addition to claws and bones, from birds and close relatives, illustrating diverse lifestyles and ecological roles among early theropod flyers.

varVAMP is open-source software for designing primers for tiled-amplicon sequencing and qPCR. It simplifies primer design for viral pathogens with high genomic variability by including sequence variations into primer sequences.

Theory of Mind experiments in animals have not previously discounted the possibility that individuals follow their competitors′ behavioural cues. Here, Bugnyar et al.show that ravens consider the possibility that they are being watched when caching food, even when they cannot see a conspecific competitor.

The zoonotic pathogen Coxiella burnetiiestablishes a unique intracellular niche within a lysosome-derived vacuole. Here Bird et al. undertook proteomic, cell biology and microbiology approaches to characterise this niche and the strategies employed by C. burnetii to maintain a balance between intracellular success and maintaining host cell homoeostasis.

Birds' migration pattern can shift due to changes in climate and habitat. Here, Teitelbaum and colleagues show that the experiences of older whooping cranes are important for generating new population-level migration behaviours in response to changes in the environment.

A phylogenetic comparative analysis of male and female body size across tetrapods globally shows that directional change in size is usually greater in males but reveals different underlying mechanisms among lineages.

Birds exhibit extensive close ecological interactions with flowering plants, but the evolutionary origins of those relationships remain unclear. Plant phytolith analysis of stomach contents of the Early Cretaceous long-tailed bird Jeholornis reveals the earliest example of leaf eating by birds.

Combining biophysical and economic models, the authors show that the impacts of land use on bird biodiversity and carbon sequestration have increased over the years 2000–2011, with cattle farming being a major driver of biodiversity loss.