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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tortoises and turtles Testudines |
greater prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido |
guillemot;common murre Uria aalge |
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Bachman's warbler Vermivora bachmanii |
Bachman's warbler Vermivora bachmanii |
pit vipers and vipers Viperidae |
