Why are there birds on the reptiles page?
Overwhelming physical, fossil, and molecular evidence has now convincingly established that birds, as a group, fall within the group Reptilia. Birds are the closest living relatives of crocodiles, which are traditionally included in Reptilia, so birds fall within that group as well. Please see our information on Reptilia for more information relevant to this debate, and our details on how animals are classified.
Because we have more specimens of birds than of reptiles (a function mainly of their popularity with people), these specimens seem to be weighted towards birds.
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common poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii |
common pheasant Phasianus colchicus |
Laysan albatross Phoebastria immutabilis |
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grey plover;black-bellied plover Pluvialis squatarola |
short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris |
short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris |
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Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae |
Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae |
Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae |
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common grackle Quiscalus quiscula |
Virginia rail Rallus limicola |
greater rhea Rhea americana |
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greater rhea Rhea americana |
greater rhea Rhea americana |
snakes Serpentes |
