Editing Passerine (section)

====Earliest passerines====
[[File:Superb lyrbird in scrub.jpg|thumb|Male [[superb lyrebird]] (''Menura novaehollandiae''): This unique [[songbird]] shows strong [[sexual dimorphism]], with a peculiarly [[apomorph]]ic display of plumage in males.]]
Perching bird [[osteology]], especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic.<ref name=boles97>{{cite journal|author= Boles, Walter E. |year=1997|title= Fossil songbirds (Passeriformes) from the Early Eocene of Australia|journal=[[Emu (journal)|Emu]] |volume=97|issue=1|pages= 43–50|doi=10.1071/MU97004|bibcode=1997EmuAO..97...43B }}</ref><ref name=manegold04>{{cite journal|author1=Manegold, Albrecht |author2=Mayr, Gerald |author3=Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile |name-list-style=amp |year=2004|title= Miocene Songbirds and the Composition of the European Passeriform Avifauna|journal=[[Auk (journal)|Auk]] |volume=121|issue=4|pages= 1155–1160|doi=10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[1155:MSATCO]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=73668280 |doi-access=free}}
</ref><ref name=mayr06/> However, the early fossil record is poor because passerines are relatively small, and their delicate bones do not preserve well. [[Queensland Museum]] specimens F20688 ([[carpometacarpus]]) and F24685 ([[tibiotarsus]]) from [[Murgon, Queensland]], are fossil bone fragments initially assigned to [[Passeriformes]].<ref name=boles97/> However, the material is too fragmentary and their affinities have been questioned.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mayr |first1=G |title=The age of the crown group of passerine birds and its evolutionary significance–molecular calibrations versus the fossil record |journal=Systematics and Biodiversity |date=2013 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=7–13 |doi=10.1080/14772000.2013.765521|bibcode=2013SyBio..11....7M |s2cid=85167051 }}</ref> Several more recent fossils from the [[Oligocene]] of Europe, such as ''[[Wieslochia]]'', ''[[Jamna (bird)|Jamna]]'', ''[[Resoviaornis]],'' and ''[[Crosnoornis]]'',<ref>Bochenski, Z.M., Tomek, T., Bujoczek, M. (2021) [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0#citeas A new passeriform (Aves: Passeriformes) from the early Oligocene of Poland sheds light on the beginnings of Suboscines]. ''J Ornithol''. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0</ref> are more complete and definitely represent early passeriforms, and have been found to belong to a variety of modern and extinct lineages.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Lowi-Merri |first1=Talia M. |last2=Gjevori |first2=Martina |last3=Bochenski |first3=Zbigniew M. |last4=Wertz |first4=Krzysztof |last5=Claramunt |first5=Santiago |date=2024-12-31 |title=Total-evidence dating and the phylogenetic affinities of early fossil passerines |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2024.2356086 |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2024.2356086 |bibcode=2024JSPal..2256086L |issn=1477-2019}}</ref>

From the [[Saint Bathans#Geology and palaeontology|Bathans Formation]] at the [[Manuherikia River]] in [[Otago]], New Zealand, [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|MNZ]] S42815 (a [[Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] right [[tarsometatarsus]] of a [[tūī|tui]]-sized bird) and several bones of at least one species of [[Saddleback (bird)|saddleback]]-sized bird have recently been described. These date from the Early to [[Middle Miocene]] ([https://books.google.com/books?id=gto4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA584 Awamoan] to [[Lillburnian]], 19–16&nbsp;mya).<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Worthy, Trevor H. |author2=Tennyson, A.J.D. |author3=Jones, C. |author4=McNamara, J.A. |author5=Douglas, B.J. |year=2007|title= Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand|journal=[[Journal of Systematic Palaeontology]] |volume=5|issue=1|pages= 1–39|doi=10.1017/S1477201906001957|bibcode=2007JSPal...5....1W |author1-link=Trevor H. Worthy |hdl=2440/43360 |s2cid=85230857 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>