Speaking of finches . . .

The discovery of the earliest known modern bird, a
115-million-year-old, finch-sized bird with an alula and
other modern bone and feather features, is described in the
latest issue of the journal _Nature_, according to the
Associated Press (AP) today.

The bird, found in a limestone quarry in Spain, has been
dubbed _Eoalulavis hoyasi_, which the AP renders as "early
bird with an alula from Las Hoyas."

"'The preservation of this specimen is so spectacular it has
not only all the feathers in place, or most of them, but also
the contents of its last meal,'" according to the AP's quotation
of Luis Chiappe, a paleontologist at the American Museum of
Natural History in New York City and one of several scientists
involved in the discover. The bird had eaten tiny crustaceans.

The AP report emphasizes the evolutionary development of
birds' flight in the 30 million years between Archaeopteryx
and Eoalulavis.

Even though the bird has been beautifully preserved, the
AP gives no indication that the description in _Nature_
offers useful field marks (a la RTP).

But watch your feeders anyway!

--cheers, Jim Lyles <jrlyles at usgs.gov>
Tacoma, WA <jrlyles at eskimo.com>