According to a paper published in the latest issue of *Communications Biology*, a ‘frozen bird’ was unearthed from the Siberian permafrost. It was identified as a skylark that lived 4.6 thousand years ago, and is the ancestor of the modern horned grackle. The ‘frozen bird’ is remarkably well-preserved, looking as if it died yesterday.

The ‘frozen bird’ was found in Belaya Gora village, Siberia.

According to CNN on February 21st, an explorer searching for fossil ivory discovered a ‘frozen bird’ in the Siberian permafrost. Swedish scientists identified it as a skylark that lived 4.6 thousand years ago, and is the ancestor of the modern horned grackle.

The ‘frozen bird’ is remarkably well-preserved, looking as if it died yesterday.

This ‘frozen bird’ is buried in a mine in Belaya Gora village, 7 meters deep in the permafrost, and is remarkably well-preserved. Paleontologists from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, including Professor Lovdaren Darren, studied and confirmed that it is a female bird that did not suffer violent injuries before death, and was quickly frozen and buried in mud.

It was identified that the ‘frozen bird’ is the ancestor of the modern horned grackle.

Professor Darren said this is the first time a bird specimen from the previous ice age has been discovered, but it looks ‘as if it died yesterday.’ Professor Darren said it’s amazing to think that this skylark lived during the time of lions and mammoths.

It was also reported that researchers found another ‘frozen beast’ 1.8 thousand years ago in the same permafrost layer, and it is currently being confirmed whether it is a wolf or a dog.

Compiled/Reported by: South China Morning Post reporter Chen Lin