'Wonderchicken' fossil reveals dawn of modern birds Reuters jeudi, 19 mars 2020 à 16:00 - An international team of palaeontologists have identified the oldest fossil of a modern bird yet found, dating from the age of dinosaurs. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fossil unearthed in Belgium dubbed the "Wonderchicken" is providing a rare glimpse into the early evolution of modern birds at the twilight of the age of dinosaurs, right before an asteroid impact altered the course of life on Earth. Researchers on Wednesday described a partridge-sized bird named Asteriornis maastrichtensis that inhabited a seashore environment 66.7 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It represents the oldest-known anatomically modern bird, sharing skull traits with today's landfowl like chickens, turkeys, quail and pheasants as well as waterfowl like ducks, geese and swans.