This Bird Evolved into Existence Twice — Thousands of Years Apart

By Yasemin Saplakoglu On a ring-shaped reef in the Indian Ocean, a species of bird evolved to be flightless — twice. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, white-throated rails (Dryolimnas cuvieri) flew from their native home in Madagascar to the Aldabra atoll, a ring-shaped reef among the Seychelle Islands. The reef, free of predators for …