Tingamarra Songbird (not yet named)
Lived: 55 million years ago (early Eocene)
Size: Wingspan: 35cm
Description: Although not much is known about the Tingamarra Songbird, it is a very important bird. Songbirds, such as magpies, swallows and honeyeaters, make up 60 per cent of all living bird species. The Tingamarra Songbird is the oldest songbird in the world. It lived in the forest trees near swampy lakes, but nobody knows yet what it ate or what its relationships are to other songbirds.
Fossils: The Tingamarra Songbird is known from a leg bone found at Murgon in south-eastern Queensland. This bone has features known only in songbirds.
Did you know?: The Tingamarra Songbird is the world's oldest known songbird by 20 million years.
