The Zealandian false-colie was described from a single bone recovered from 19-16 million-year-old (early Miocene) lake-bed deposits along the true left bank of the Manuherikia River, St Bathans, central Otago. This bone (NMNZ S.52077, a distal right humerus) is held at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. It is one of more than 40 bird species now known from the St Bathans Fauna.

The Zealandian false-colie was about the size of a whitehead or sparrow. The holotype presents a mix of features not seen in any family; however, key features allow its relationships to be constrained. While it is superficially similar to passerines and caprimulgiforms, key differences prohibit affinity with these groups. A closer similarity lies with birds in the diverse group Coraciimorphae. Among these, it is closest to the Coliiformes (colies - also known as mousebirds), which in the Paleogene were widespread and diverse in the Northern Hemisphere but are now restricted to six African species. However, key differences from coliiforms exist in the fossil, so it is more likely that Zealandornis represents a separate group from them.

The genus name Zealandornis reflects that this bird comes from Zealandia, the continent on which New Zealand is emergent. The species name relictus is a Latin adjective to reflect one remaining or left behind. This captures the authors' view that this species was relictual, like the acanthisittid wrens and kākāpō, which are the sister groups of all other birds in their orders, Passeriformes and Psittaciformes, respectively. The Zealandian false-colie adds another important component to the evolutionarily distinct taxa that characterise the New Zealand terrestrial biota.

References

Worthy, T.H.; Scofield, R.P.; Salisbury, S.W.; Hand, S.J.; De Pietri, V.; Archer, M. 2022. Two new neoavian taxa with contrasting palaeobiogeographical implications from the early Miocene St Bathans fauna, New Zealand. Journal of Ornithology (2022).

Recommended citation

Worthy, T.H. 2022. Zealandian false-colie. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz