Paleontologists have unearthed a 2.9-centimeter fossilized foot bone, potentially belonging to a bowerbird species, from the Miocene-era St. Bathans fossil site in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Life reconstruction of the St Bathans bowerbird (Aeviperditus gracilis). Image credit: Sasha Votyakova / Te Papa / CC BY 4.0.
This newly identified species is thought to have inhabited New Zealand—situated a considerable distance from its probable close relatives in Australia and New Guinea—during the Miocene epoch, specifically between 19 and 14 million years ago.
“This finding offers a remarkable and singular perspective on the biological past of Aotearoa’s avian population,” stated Dr. Nic Rawlence, Director of the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory.
“Globally, bowerbirds gained significant recognition through Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, primarily due to their intricate courtship rituals. In these displays, male birds construct a distinct arch-like structure, known as a bower, adorned with twigs and frequently embellished with vibrant items such as fruits, leaves, or even modern detritus like plastic fragments, all in an effort to allure a mate.”
Designated as Aeviperditus gracilis, or the St. Bathans bowerbird, this prehistoric avian was considerably more diminutive than extant bowerbird species.
“It is smaller than both living and extinct bowerbird species, with an estimated weight of 33 grams, in stark contrast to the 96-265 grams observed in other species,” Dr. Rawlence elaborated.
“Its foot bone exhibits the closest resemblance to those of avenue bower builders, which encompass the vividly colored flame bowerbird and the satin bowerbird.”
“Should this avian indeed be a descendant of the bowerbirds, it might signify the existence of an entirely novel songbird family for Aotearoa,” commented Dr. Elizabeth Steell, a researcher affiliated with the University of Cambridge.
“This is particularly noteworthy considering the limited understanding we possess regarding the fossilized record of ancient songbirds in this geographical region.”
“The St. Bathans bowerbird represents the most recent addition to the lengthy evolutionary trajectory of songbird lineages within Aotearoa, a land where ancient members of numerous distinct groups are found, including the huia, kōkako, tīeke, piopio, and mohua.”
“It is highly probable that all these species are the progeny of a rapid evolutionary surge and subsequent dispersal from Australia into New Zealand.”
“Similar to certain unique fauna discovered at St. Bathans, there are no surviving descendants of this bowerbird present in Aotearoa today.”
“The bowerbird would have been particularly vulnerable to the cooling climatic conditions that preceded the Ice Ages, along with the consequent alterations in forest composition and distribution, which likely contributed to its eventual extinction,” Dr. Rawlence suggested.
A scholarly article detailing the discovery of Aeviperditus gracilis was disseminated on October 7, 2025, within the pages of Historical Biology, an International Journal of Paleobiology.
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Elizabeth M. Steell et al. A possible early bowerbird from the Miocene of New Zealand. Historical Biology, published online October 7, 2025; doi: 10.1080/08912963.2025.2568099
