While ravens do not occur in Beijing (China) today, a new scientific study analyzing fossil bird bones from the Zhoukoudian site demonstrates that ravens lived in Beijing at the same time as some of its ancient human inhabitants.The study, published in the Journal of Ornithology on Aug. 28, was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators. Contact to LI Zhiheng lizhiheng@ivpp.ac.cn

A new type of analysis of a spectacular 120-million-year-old fossil skeleton of the extinct early bird Jeholornis from northeastern China has revealed the oldest evidence for birds eating leaves, marking the earliest known evolution of arboreal plant-eating among birds. The study, published in Nature Communications on July 28, was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators. Contact to LI Zhiheng lizhiheng@ivpp.ac.cn

Paleontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have reported a detailed scientific study of limb size evolution across the theropod-bird transition. The study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution on June 5. Contact to WANG Min wangmin@ivpp.ac.cn