Researchers find birds of a unique feather

A small, perching bird whose habitat is mainly in China, surprisingly has a newly conspicuous place in the tree of life of birds. Researchers from five countries, including China, have discovered that the spotted wren-babbler (Spelaeornis formosus) belongs to a unique family of birds containing just one species.

The wren-like bird lives in mountains from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast China.

Scientists investigated more than 60 families within the Passerida group of perching birds and identified 10 separate branches in their tree of life.