Of all the birds on Earth, perhaps none is more unique than the South American oilbird, which 90 million years ago hopped onto its own branch of the evolutionary tree and has been on it ever since.

At first glance, the oilbird doesn’t seem so strange. It’s a chestnut-colored, hawk-like bird that lives in South America. But with a closer look, its strange qualities start to stack up. Oilbirds are ...

The South American oilbird is the planet's top-ranked most evolutionarily distinct bird species. Photo taken by Walter Jetz in Humboldt's Cave, Venezuela. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not ...

Not much surprises the oilbird. Its senses are super sharp and when combined, may function in a way that can inspire researchers to construct better drones and more advanced technology. All animals ...

Not much surprises the oilbird. Its senses are super sharp and when combined, may function in a way that can inspire researchers to construct better drones and more advanced technology. Not much ...