elephant bird
Extinct flightless ratite
Elephant birds were giant flightless birds native to Madagascar, extinct since roughly the 17th century.
Standing up to ten feet tall and weighing over a thousand pounds, they were among the largest birds ever to exist.
Their enormous eggs—larger than any dinosaur egg—occasionally still surface in Madagascar.
The name reflects their massive size rather than any resemblance to elephants.
Incapable of aerial travel
- ostrichLargest living bird
- emuFlightless Australian bird
- cassowaryLarge flightless Australian bird
- kiwiFuzzy brown-skinned fruit
moa · rhea · powerful legs · terrestrial · ornithology · bipedal · ground-dwelling · herbivorous
Giant mythical bird
- SinbadLegendary seafaring merchant
- Arabian NightsMedieval Middle Eastern folklore anthology
- Marco PoloMedieval Venetian who reached China
- mythicalOf folklore, not fact
folklore · traveler tales · cryptid · eyewitness accounts · sailors · legendary creature
Partially mineralized ancient remains
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- vanishedDisappeared from sight
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- fossilizedMineralized organic remains
paleontology · moa · dodo · megafauna · carbon dating · museum specimens · extinction event · overhunting
Native to one area
- subfossilPartially mineralized ancient remains
- baobabsThick-trunked African trees
- lemursMadagascan arboreal primates
- fossaAnatomical depression or hollow
rainforest · vanilla · deforestation · overhunting · habitat loss
Brittle ovum casing
- museum collectionsItems an institution preserves
- circumferenceCircle's outer measurement
- reconstructedBuilt again from pieces
- collectorsThose who systematically acquire
flightless
Incapable of aerial travel
kiwi · moa · rhea · powerful legs · terrestrial · ornithology · bipedal · ground-dwelling · herbivorous · grazing
roc
Giant mythical bird
- SinbadLegendary seafaring merchant
- Arabian NightsMedieval Middle Eastern folklore anthology
- Marco PoloMedieval Venetian who reached China
mythical · folklore · traveler tales · cryptid · eyewitness accounts · sailors · legendary creature
subfossil
Partially mineralized ancient remains
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- vanishedDisappeared from sight
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
fossilized · paleontology · moa · dodo · megafauna · carbon dating · museum specimens · extinction event · overhunting · habitat destruction
endemic
Native to one area
- subfossilPartially mineralized ancient remains
- baobabsThick-trunked African trees
- lemursMadagascan arboreal primates
fossa · rainforest · vanilla · deforestation · overhunting · habitat loss
eggshell
Brittle ovum casing
- museum collectionsItems an institution preserves
- circumferenceCircle's outer measurement
- reconstructedBuilt again from pieces
elephant birdchicken
Domestic fowl for eating
sparrow · pigeon · robin · house sparrow