Crow

Brains are key organs because they make sense of the world and help us successfully navigate through our lives. While all animals have brains, some species have rather large brains relatively to their body size—and this is very beneficial. A large brain gives species much more flexibility to deal with everyday problems and helps them make better decisions or find innovative solutions. However, brain size (relative to body size) varies tremendously among roughly 10,000 bird species.

Researchers at Hokkaido University have revealed the effects of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus infection on an Ezo red fox and a Japanese raccoon dog, linking their infection to a recorded die-off of crows.

Have you ever eaten chicken feet? If you haven't, you might be surprised to learn there's actually quite a bit of flesh down there. And scales too! They're wonderful—and informative—pieces of engineering.

Charles Darwin believed evolution created "endless forms most beautiful." It's a nice sentiment but it doesn't explain why evolution keeps making crabs.

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth with the force of 10 billion atomic bombs and changed the course of evolution. The skies darkened and plants stopped photosynthesising. The plants died, then the animals that fed on them. The food chain collapsed. Over 90% of all species vanished. When the dust settled, all dinosaurs except a handful of birds had gone extinct.