Dr Nikita Zelenkov, from the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow has found a parrot fossil, Biology Letters reported.

The parrot fossil has been unearthed in Siberia - the furthest north one of these birds has ever been found, a study reports.

A single parrot bone was discovered in the Baikal region and dates to between 16 and 18 million years ago.

It suggests that the birds, which today mainly inhabit tropical and sub-tropical regions, may once have been widespread in Eurasia.

“We were excavating all kinds of animals there, and mostly they were rodents, rhinos, cats, hippos and others,” scientist explained.