Fig. 1. Newly sequenced genomes densely cover the bird tree of life.

The 10,135 bird species^11,12 are shown on a draft phylogeny that synthesizes taxonomic and phylogenetic information³⁶ (Supplementary Data). In total, 363 species, covering 92.4% of all families, now have at least 1 genome assembly per sequenced family (purple branches). The grey arc marks the diverse Passeriformes radiation, with 6,063 species, of which 173 species have genome assemblies now. Chicken (*) and zebra finch (**) are marked for orientation. Paintings illustrate examples of sequenced species.