The rise of birds. 225 million years of evolution / Расцвет птиц. 225 миллионов лет эволюции

Endowed with colorful plumages and beautiful songs, birds in flight symbolize spirits released from the bondage of gravity. From the day that humans first looked up at the skies, birds have summoned a sense of wonder and mystery, enchanting our earthbound ancestors with their freedom and song. They fly where they please and when they please. The power of flight has opened up to birds a multilayered network of aerial highways and byways, enabling them to reach any place on our planet. They exhibit a wide variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and habits. Their awesome power of flight takes them to every continent, from pole to pole, and they fill every conceivable niche. Birds have enriched our life with their free spirit, beauty, and songs. They inform us about the rest of the natural world, control insect population, disperse seeds, and embody key values in human cultures. They have played a key role in many important developments of evolutionary theories. Given their stark beauty, graceful flight, exuberant activity, diurnal habits, dazzling feathers, and melodious songs, it is hardly surprising that birds feature strongly in every culture in painting, poetry, and music. Birds are the most successful terrestrial vertebrate, abundant in both numbers of species and populations.About 300 billion birds, with 10,000 species, now inhabit  the Earth, as compared to 3,000 species of amphibians, 6,000 species of reptiles, and perhaps 4,500 species of mammals. <...>