Miocene birds

The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide native distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes the canaries, siskins, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias, as well as the morphologically divergent Hawaiian honeycre

Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised: the common ostrich, native to large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa.

Teratornithidae is an extinct family of very large birds of prey that lived in North and South America from the Late Oligocene to Late Pleistocene. They include some of the largest known flying birds. Its members are known as teratorns.

Dromornis is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds native to Australia during the Oligocene to Pliocene epochs. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, Dromornis stirtoni, is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the family Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs.

Pelagornis is an extinct genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds, a group of extinct seabirds. Species span from the Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene. Members of Pelagornis represent among the largest pseudotooth birds, with one species, P. sandersi, having the widest wingspan of any bird known.

species of bird (fossil)

Paraphysornis is an extinct genus of giant flightless terror birds that inhabited Brazil during Late Oligocene or Early Miocene epochs. Although not the tallest phorusrhacid, Paraphysornis measured up to tall at the hips and weighed around . It was also a notably robust bird, having short and robust tarsal bones not suited for pursuit hunting.

Emuarius is an extinct genus of casuariiform flightless bird from Australia that lived during the early Miocene and late Oligocene. It is one of two known genera of emu. There are two known species in the genus, Emuarius gidju and Emuarius guljaruba. The birds in this genus are known as emuwaries. This name comes from a combination of emu and cassowary. This is due to its cassowary-like skull and femur and emu-like lower leg and foot. Because of these similarities it is phylogenetically placed between cassowaries and emus.

Osteodontornis is an extinct seabird genus. It contains a single named species, Osteodontornis orri ('''Orr's bony-toothed bird', in literal translation of its scientific name), which was described quite exactly one century after the first species of the Pelagornithidae (Pelagornis miocaenus) was. O. orri'' was named after Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History paleontologist Phil C. Orr, for his recognition of the importance of the specimen.

Nelepsittacus is a genus of extinct New Zealand parrots that is closely related to the genus Nestor (the living kākā and kea). It consists of four species, of which three have been named so far. The species are all known from the early Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna from the Lower Bannockburn Formation in Otago in New Zealand.

Palaelodus is an extinct genus of bird of the Palaelodidae family, distantly related to flamingos. They were slender birds with long, thin legs and a long neck resembling their modern relatives, but likely lived very different livestyles. They had straight, conical beaks not suited for filter feeding and legs showing some similarities to grebes. Their precise lifestyle is disputed, with researchers in the past suggesting they may have been divers, while more recent research suggests they may have used their stiff toes as paddles for swimming while feeding on insect larvae and snails. This beha

Bathornithidae is an extinct family of birds from the Eocene to Miocene of North America. Part of Cariamiformes, they are related to the still extant seriemas and the extinct Phorusrhacidae. They were likely similar in habits, being terrestrial, long-legged predators, some of which attained massive sizes.

Proapteryx micromeros is an extinct kiwi known from the 16–19 million-year-old early Miocene sediments of the St Bathans Fauna of Otago, New Zealand.

Bathornis ("tall bird") is an extinct genus of birds related to modern day seriemas, that lived in North America about 37–20 million years ago. Like the closely related and also extinct phorusrhacids, it was a flightless predator, occupying predatory niches in environments classically considered to be dominated by mammals. It was a highly diverse and successful genus, spanning a large number of species that occurred from the Priabonian Eocene to the Burdigalian Miocene epochs.

Barawertornis is an extinct genus of cassowary-sized dromornithid known from Oligocene and Miocene deposits in Queensland and South Australia. Only a single species, B. tedfordi, is placed in this genus. It shows adaptations towards a cursorial lifestyle. Like other dromornithids, Barawertornis was probably a folivorous and frugivorous browser.

species of bird

species of bird

Orientornis is an extinct species of ratite from the Miocene of China.

Ilbandornis is an extinct genus of ostrich-sized dromornithid, a clade known casually as "demon ducks" because they are most closely related to the water fowl clade anseriformes. It was far more lightly built than other members of the family, indicating a more cursorial lifestyle; it was a fast runner. The majority of researchers consider Dromornithids to be herbivorous; this is borne out by molecular analysis of the gastroliths and eggshells of both Ilbandornis and the related Genyornis. While Ilbandornis and Genyornis have skulls of similar size to emus, other Dromornithids such as Dromornis

Anthropodyptes is a poorly known monotypic genus of extinct penguin. It contains the single species Anthropodyptes gilli, known from a Middle Miocene humerus from Australia. The bone is somewhat similar to those found in members of the New Zealand genus Archaeospheniscus and thus this genus might, like them, belong to the subfamily Palaeeudyptinae.

Miotadorna is a genus of extinct tadornine ducks from the Miocene of New Zealand. It contains two species, M. sanctibathansi, and M. catrionae (Catriona's shelduck).

Kischinskinia is an extinct genus of passerine bird from late Miocene deposits of Russia. The type, and only species is Kischinskinia scandens.

species of bird (fossil)

Zeltornis ("Zelten bird") is an extinct genus of heron. It contains a single species, Zeltornis ginsburgi.

Phoeniconotius is an extinct genus of flamingo that lived in Australia from the late Oligocene to the early Miocene. Unlike modern flamingos and the contemporary Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae, it was likely less well adapted for swimming and deep water wading. Phoeniconotius was a robust flamingo with bones more massive than those of the modern greater flamingo. Only a single species is recognized, Phoeniconotius eyrensis.

Sinanas is a genus of prehistoric duck that lived during the middle Miocene. The single known species is Sinanas diatomas. Fossils of the species have been recovered from the Shandong Province of China. Taxonomists are uncertain as to its affinities to modern waterfowl.

Rhegminornis calobates is an extinct species of turkey from the early Miocene of Florida. It was described by Alexander Wetmore in 1943.