Birds Evolved in Climate-Driven Bursts | Science News

Science News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 30, 2026 · 1m

AI analyzed skeletons of 2,000+ songbird species, revealing evolution didn’t happen slowly — instead, it surged in bursts, especially during major climate shifts. Using Skelevision, researchers measured 170,000+ bone points across 12 skeletal markers, uncovering a 35-million-year-old evolutionary spike tied to global cooling. A new method called bifrost examined whole skeletons, confirming rapid adaptive radiations when environments changed drastically — proving climate upheaval can turbocharge evolution. This breakthrough underscores how museum collections and AI can rewrite our…