This week marks a minor milestone for my blog – the 350th mystery object. Thanks to everyone who comes to take a look at the specimens I’ve been sharing from the various museums I’ve worked in over the years. I hope you’ve enjoyed them!
This week I have a funky specimen from the Dead Zoo for you to have a go at identifying:
It stands around 17cm high, including the crest, which is a particularly striking feature to be preserved on a skeleton.
Any ideas what this is? As usual, you can put your questions, observations and suggestions in the comments below. Most importantly, have fun!
Zygoma 
Looks like someone has stuck a rhino horn on a pigeon!
The shape of legs and sternum tells me this is a passerine, I cannot judge the size, but looking at the crest and thge short, blunt bill my first thought is a Cotinga. Too bad I’ll go abroad for a week later today, so I won’t have an opportunity to ID this one, which is right up my alley, any further.
i can just hear the ramones: sheena is a punk rocker!
congrats and much thanks on your 350th paolo!
Congratulations on 350 fascinating enigmas. Much fun.
Don’t mean to be rude, but my first reaction was “bull, bull”. But, we’ll see.
Now I’m convinced the answer is found Down Under.
350 mysteries? Well done!
Well, I could be wrong and might bomb this one, but perhaps if I wax poetic, I could wing it a bit.
I think you are right!
The sternum/keel looks the wrong shape to me for that bird, but the crest confuses me even more. Is it bony? Or is it feathery and just happened to be preserved . . .
It’s feathery and just happened to be retained – presumably the rachis attaches into the cranium.
Rachis attaches to the cranium – that’s what it looked like to me. Is this common among crested birds?
Congratulations! 350 – wow! Love the punk rock bird – let’s see, how to be cryptic with this one, lol – a spiny flex?
I started with cotingas, then bowerbirds, pittas, birds of paradise, waxwings, auklets, and finally semi-random googling of branches of a phylogenetic tree, and came out confused. I’ll say parotia, but all I really know is how little I want to do my actual work.
Nope. I’ve got nothing. I thought one of the Vangidae but doubt I’m close.
Congratulations on your 350th Paolo: many hours of entertainment and education for us.
Ditto, palfreyman, on the hours of thought and befuddlement. Oops. You didn’t say that!
I meant it though. Snap!