Fossil found in bird seeds... ?

[gwar822]

its about the size of a dime. found it in my bird feeder... very very weird! any ideas?

i live in florida

was in my bird feeder with seeds.. it could have been in the seeds or placed there by a bird

 

Edited February 6, 2017 by gwar822

[Pagurus]

This is probably a silly question, but is it attracted to a magnet? It looks man-made to me, but fossils can look that way sometimes. I'm looking forward to learning what this is. Someone will probably know. It's an interesting puzzle. Thanks for posting it.

[jpc]

modern plant matter?

[ynot]

Agree with a modern plant fragment, maybe from a seed pod.

Tony

[Rockwood]

It is a common habit for birds to "bathe" in dust. I often see nest like structures where roughed grouse do this. I can easily see a fossil of this shape becoming lodged in feathers. 

[ynot]

8 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

It is a common habit for birds to "bathe" in dust. I often see nest like structures where roughed grouse do this. I can easily see a fossil of this shape becoming lodged in feathers. 

Seems an unlikely scenario. Also, there are visible attachment scars or breaks that show a typical plant wood color. There are also some scrape marks on the piece that show the same color.

[gwar822]

I checked to see if its magnetic and its not. It might be some kind of seed pod or made of plant material. Im wondering if i should use a q-tip and clean it gently with something. Im going to research seed pods and see. ima also sift through the bird seeds and see if i find any more.

 

its funny because it looks like a fossil too but it was in my bird feeder. It was actually on the ledge on the bird feeder where it could have been placed by a bird and might not have come from the seeds

[GeschWhat]

Very interesting! Is it heavy like a fossil or lightweight like plant material? In some of the photos, it looks like it is mineral-encrusted. 

 

Welcome to the forum!

[gwar822]

it weighs only .2 of a gram so its kind of light. its mostlikley not a fossil but a fossil mimic ill post some research results when i can.

[abyssunder]

Hard to say what it is, but is interesting (I think) for a bird. I'm wondering if couldn't be some gypsum artifact, looking at the core and the shape of it.

[bone2stone]

Have you attempted to give it hot needle test?

Use pliers to hold needle, heat needle red hot.

Touch specimen with needle, if it smokes or produces an aroma it may a recent organic particle.

Give it a try.

It may be part of a pod.

 

Jess B.