During the many years I have spent attempting to master the subtleties of bird identification, I have consulted a plethora of field guides - Peterson, Kaufmann, National Geographic, and Sibley ...

There it is—tiny, fragile, and utterly helpless-looking: a baby bird, alone on the ground. Its feathers seem half-finished, its wings flutter without flight, and its beady eyes blink up at the sky.

How much can scientists learn from one itty bitty baby bird? Well, if the bird in question is around 127 million years old ... There are artricial species in the bird world, too.

The baby bird in this video is probably close to going off on his own. The average life span of a starling is two to three years, but the record age is 22 years and 11 months. This is a segment of ...