Pumiliornis

Pumiliornis tessellatus is an ancient bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Hesse, Germany. It is described as a wren-sized^[1] anisodactyl bird with a long, slender bill and strong hallux. Its species name tessellatus, meaning "mosaic" in Latin, is a reference to its unusual distribution of characters and uncertain phylogenetic placement.^[2][3] It has some anatomical affinities with Cuculiformes, but similar fossils that might be related to this taxon do not.^[4]

Pumiliornis Temporal range: Middle Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Australaves
Family:	†Morsoravidae
Genus:	†Pumiliornis (Mayr, 1999)
Type species
†Pumiliornis tessellatus (Mayr, 1999)

In 2014, a new specimen of Pumiliornis was described that showed preserved stomach contents of pollen grains from a eudicotyledonous angiosperm, making it the earliest fossil evidence of flower-visiting behavior in birds.^[5]