BIRDS learned to sing at least twice during their long evolutionary journey, researchers have found.
A study of the make-up of genetic fingerprint of 48 species has revealed surprising facts about the 10,000 varieties that inhabit the planet today.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, who took part in the study along with academics from around the world, traced the genetic lineage of birds back to the time of the dinosaurs.
And it appears that parrots and songbirds gained the ability to learn and mimic vocal activity independently of hummingbirds, despite sharing many of the same genes.
The researchers also explored the evolution of characteristics including birds' bright plumage and their ability to fly.
The international study charts a burst of evolution that took place after the mass extinction of dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. This gave rise to nearly all of the species of birds that we see on the planet today.
The four-year project decoded and compared the entire genetic fingerprint of bird species including the woodpecker, owl, penguin, hummingbird and flamingo.
The major study provides fresh insights into how bird genes differ from those of mammals, and the biological mechanisms that give rise to the vast diversity among birds.
More than 200 scientists took part in the Avian Phylogenomics Project, which was led by BGI (China), University of Copenhagen, Duke University, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
It is hoped that the information gained by the research will be useful for helping scientists to understand why infectious diseases, such as bird flu, affect some species but not others.
Professor David Burt, Acting Director of the National Avian Research Facility at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, said: "This is just the beginning. We hope that giving people the tools to explore this wealth of bird gene information in one place will stimulate further research.
"Ultimately, we hope the research will bring important insights to help improve the health and welfare of wild and farmed birds."
A separate study, published at the same time, has concluded that crocodiles are the closest living relatives of birds. Both groups share a common ancestor that lived around 240 million years ago and also gave rise to the dinosaurs.
But while the evolution of birds has flown ahead since the extinction of their dinosaur forbears, that of crocodilians has barely moved forward.
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