Analyses of bones found across the world suggest that the birds entered human settlements more recently than previously thought. But they don’t seem to have immediately made their way to the table, raising questions as to why people started keeping them.

So far this season, tens of millions of birds have died of disease or been culled, driving up prices of eggs, chicken, and turkey meat.

The Scientist spoke with the UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, about this winter’s high bird flu prevalence, the effects of the disease, and efforts to combat it.

A report of preserved fragments of nuclei and chromatin in a fossilized femur of a 125-million-year-old Caudipteryx dinosaur elicits skepticism.

A newly discovered fossilized skull is between 66.8 million and 66.7 million years old and bears similarities to modern-day chickens and ducks.

A new 3-D model plumbs the molecular intricacies of eggshell composition.

In a developing chicken embryo, skin cells pull on each other, forming multicellular mounds that eventually turn into properly-spaced feathers.

Chickens immunized against Marek’s disease virus are apt to spread more-virulent versions of the pathogen, a study shows.

Like humans, baby birds visualize increasing numbers from left to right, a study suggests.

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

Most drug manufacturers agree to follow the Food and Drug Administration’s new labeling guidelines for antibiotics used in farm animals.

In avian species, a gene induces programmed cell death during development in the area where a phallus would otherwise grow.

An analysis of the novel virus indicates it’s descended from at least four different bird flu strains.

What scientists are learning about the zoonotic flu virus that has infected more than 100 people in China since February

High stress during fetal development could  cause premature aging, according to a study in chickens, which published today (November 9) in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.