Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, includi...

The gallopheasants comprise a clade of 22 species including some of the most elaborately plumaged and highly ornamented birds in the world. They also occupy a remarkable breath of environments and habitats, ranging from lowland rainforests to high grasslands and steppes of the Tibetan plateau. Here, we provide the first well‐resolved species phylogeny of this charismatic group, inferred from ultraconserved elements, nuclear in...

In the Andes, humid‐forest organisms frequently exhibit pronounced genetic structure and geographic variation in phenotype, often coincident with physical barriers to dispersal. However, phylogenetic relationships of clades have often been difficult to resolve due to short internodes. Consequently, even in taxa with well‐defined genetic structure, the temporal and geographic sequences of dispersal and vicariance events that le...

Aim Range disjunctions are frequent in birds, but the relative roles of vicariance and long‐distance dispersal in producing them are debated. Odontophorid quail are widespread in tropical and temperate habitats in the Americas, yet recent phylogenetic studies support the view that they are sister to sub‐Saharan African Ptilopachus rather than the widespread Phasianidae as formerly believed. To understand how this 10,000 km ran...

Aim Colonization and subsequent isolation across deep‐water barriers is thought to be the primary driver of diversification in insular birds. Shallow‐water barriers and intra‐island isolation are less well‐documented drivers of avian diversification. We examined the relative roles of different geographical barriers in the diversification of A ethopyga sunbirds, a widespread S outheast A sian genus that has its greatest diversi...