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| To better determine the history of modern birds, we performed a genome-scale phylogenetic
analysis of 48 species representing all orders of Neoaves using phylogenomic methods
created to handle genome-scale data. We recovered a highly resolved tree that confirms
previously controversial sister or close relationships. We identified the first divergence in
Neoaves, two groups we named Passerea and Columbea, representing independent lineages
of diverse and convergently evolved land and water bird species. Among Passerea, we infer
the common ancestor of core landbirds to have been an apex predator and confirm independent
gains of vocal learning. Among Columbea, we identify pigeons and flamingoes as belonging to
sister clades. Even with whole genomes, some of the earliest branches in Neoaves proved
challenging to resolve, which was best explained by massive protein-coding sequence
convergence and high levels of incomplete lineage sorting that occurred during a rapid
radiation after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event about 66 million years ago | |
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