Daily Infographic: 9,993 Bird Species On One Tree (Now Zoomable!)
A look at the first complete map of one of nature's most diverse classes of life
A few weeks ago, we brought you a story about the first-ever family tree of every living bird on Earth. In addition to that excellent story, we thought you might like to explore the map for yourself. Zoom in on the image below for more detail, and to see our notes about a few of the map’s highlights.
The tree starts in the middle of the circle, at 120 million years ago, and time moves forward toward the circle’s perimeter. The color of each branch indicates how long it took for a new species to evolve and branch off from its “parent.” Also, check out this cool little animation of the tree (that actually looks like a tree).