February 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. In the southern hemisphere, a large conference 'Evolution – the Experience' was held in Melbourne, Australia, to celebrate Darwin’s legacy and as part of this event a special symposium sponsored by Deakin University focussed on the importance of evolutionary theory for our understanding of avian biodiversity. Contributors to the symposium came from the UK, Canada and France, as well as from within Australia. This Research Front presents a series of papers documenting central contributions to this symposium.