Winnicavis gorskii: A new species of Passerine Bird from the Early Oligocene Menilite Shales of southern Poland.

Passerine Birds are the largest and most successful group of living Birds, and by extension the most specious Dinosaur group ever to have lived. Despite this they have a very poor fossil record, largely due to the very delicate nature of these Bird's bones. The first Eocene Passerine Bird fossil was disovered in Australia in the mid-1990s, leading to the theory that Passerines had a Southern Hemisphere origin, however since then a number of Oligocene Passerine Birds have been discovered in Europe, suggesting that the group was well established and diverse in this area by then, shedding doubts upon the southern origin theory.

In a paper published in the joural Palaeontologica Electronica on 16 August 2018, Zbigniew Bochenski, Teresa Tomek and Krzysztof Wertz of the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Johannes Happ of the Department of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna, Małgorzata Bujoczek of the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture and Ewa Swidnicka of the Department of Palaeozoology at the University of Wrocław, describe a new species of Passerine Bird from the Early Oligocene Menilite Shales of Podkarpackie Province in southern Poland.

The new Bird is named Winnicavis gorskii, where 'Winnicavis' means 'Winnica-Bird' in reference to the area where the specimen was found, and 'gorskii' honours Andrzej Górski, who discovered the specimen. The specimen comprises Two incomplete wings with a shoulder girdle, plus fragments of at least 12 flight feathers from the right wing, partially articulated, preserved as part and counterpart on a split slab. The affinities of this Bird within the Passerines are unclear, but Bochenski estimate from its wing structure that it has a typical Passerine mode of flight, characterised by flapping phases and pauses.

Winnicavis gorskii from Winnica, Poland, early Oligocene (top left - main slab; bottom left - counterslab) and interpretative drawings (right). Left (L) and right (R) elements are indicated. Abbreviations: cmc, carpometacarpus; cr, os carpi radiale, cu, os carpi ulnare; dmaj, phalanx distalis digiti majoris; pmaj, phalanx proximalis digiti majoris; pmin,  phalanx digiti minoris. Numbers in circles on the slabs: (1) primaries, (2) secondaries, (3) underwing coverts, (4) primary coverts. Zbigniew et al. (2018).

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A preserved Passerine Bird’s foot from the late Oligocene of Poland.

Passerines (Perching Birds) are the most numerous and successful group of Birds in the modern world, with over half of all known Bird species being Passerines, including Finches, Thrushes, Sparrows, Warblers and Crows. Despite their success the group do not have an extensive fossil record, largely due to their small and delicate bones. The oldest putative Passerine fossils are from the early Eocene of Australia.

In a paper published in the journal Palaeontologica Electronica on 27 January 2014, Zbigniew Bochenski and Teresa Tomek of the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Ewa Swidnicka of the Department of Palaeozoology at the University of Wrocław, describe the preserved foot of a Passerine Bird preserved as part and counterpart on shale slabs from the late Oligocene Menilite Formation of the Outer Carpathians in southeastern Poland, dated to about 25 million years old.

The specimen comprises the entire foot and lower leg of a Passerine Bird, roughly 15 mm in length. It is not formally described as a new species, as the isolated foot of a Passerine Bird is not considered to be sufficient for species identification, although it is not thought to belong to any of the (few) known Oligocene Bird species.

Foot of a passerine bird foot from southeastern Poland, Hłudno, late Oligocene, approximately 25 million years old. (1) Main slab; (2),Counter slab; (3) Interpretative drawings of the main slab and counter slab. Abbreviations: (d) I, pp – digit I, proximal phalanx; d I, up – digit I, ungual phalanx; d II, p1 – digit II, phalanx 1; d II, p2 – digit II, phalanx 2; d II, up – digit II, ungual phalanx; d III, p1 – digit III, phalanx 1; d III, p2 – digit III, phalanx 2; d III, p3 – digit III, phalanx 3; d III, up – digit III, ungual phalanx; d IV, p1 – digit IV, phalanx 1; d IV, p2 – digit IV, phalanx 2; d IV, p3 – digit IV, phalanx 3; d IV, p4 – digit IV, phalanx 4; d IV, up – digit IV, ungual phalanx; omt I – os metatarsale I; tmt – tarsometatarsus; tbt – tibiotarsus (fragment of the condylus lateralis). Bochenski et al. (2014).

See also Fossil Kiwi from the Miocene of South Island, New Zealand, Avian footprints from the Early Cretaceous of Victoria State, Australia, A new species of Tailorbird from the Mekong floodplain of Cambodia, A new Long-tailed Bird from the Early Cretaceous of China and A fossil Bird from the Eocene of Guangdong Province China.

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