Bird fossil found with feathers still attached

A 52-million-year fossil of a "perching bird" has been found in the US with its feathers still attached, something that "no one's ever seen before".

Also known as passerines, the perching bird was discovered in Fossil Lake, Wyoming. Passerines are known for eating seeds, as most modern-day birds do and account for approximately 65% of the 10,000 different species of birds alive today.

"This is one of the earliest known perching birds. It's fascinating because passerines today make up most of all bird species, but they were extremely rare back then. This particular piece is just exquisite," said museum curator Lance Grande, author of a paper on the bird, in a statement. "It is a complete skeleton with the feathers still attached, which is extremely rare in the fossil record of birds."