attached FoxNews.com/Science ^ | Feb 8, 2019 | Chris Ciaccia | Fox News
A 52-million-year fossil of a "perching bird" has been found in Wyoming with its feathers still attached, a discovery that "no one's ever seen before."
Also known as passerines, the perching bird was discovered in Fossil Lake, WY. Passerines are well-known for eating seeds, as most modern-day birds do and account for approximately 65 percent of the 10,000 different species of birds alive today.
"This is one of the earliest known perching birds. It's fascinating because passerines today make up most of all bird species, but they were extremely rare back then. This particular piece is just exquisite," said Field Museum Neguanee Distinguished Service Curator Lance Grande, author of a paper on the bird, in a statement. "It is a complete skeleton with the feathers still attached, which is extremely rare in the fossil record of birds."
The study has been published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
Now known as Eofringillirostrum boudreauxi, the bird had a "finch-like beak," similar to modern day finches and sparrows, which could give clues as to its diet.
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The 52-million-year-old fossil of Eofringillirostrum boudreauxi, the earliest known perch-
ing bird with a beak for eating seeds. (Credit: Lance Grande, Field Museum)
