It is evident from these and similar discoveries that the birds of the elephantopus and crassus species congregated together in flocks, while the more monstrous specimen known as Dinornis giganteus must have been a comparatively solitary bird, as the bones of this class are scarce, and never found in any numbers in one spot. From the traditions of the natives it appears, that great numbers of Moas were still living upon the islands at the time when they were first populated, and that the last of those birds probably disappeared from the surface of the earth but a few generations ago. No, they ranged throughout both the main islands of New Zealand and Stewart Island, from high in the mountains to sea level. The reasons for these birds' extinction are hard to determine as there are no reliable historical records of the pre-European history of Madagascar. DO'Neil at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3. Those huge birds were then the only large animal beings that populated New Zealand; for of indigenous mammalia, except a little rat, there is nothing known. These birds' ancestors were once even larger, such as the elephant bird, which stood 10 feet (3 meters) tall, and the moa, which could grow nearly as large. This genus had a long neck and stub-like wings, rendering it flightless. In the face of human hunters, the elephant bird was retreating to remoter regions. In the 16th century, Dutch, Portuguese and French sailors returned from the Indian Ocean with huge eggs taken as curios. The skull was short and moa-like, and the wing seems to have been completely aborted. The most detailed account of giant moas came from an old Maori on South Island, who described the birds' appearance, habitat, feeding and nesting habits. The kiwi of New Zealand, Madagascan elephant birds as well as the emu, ostrich and the extinct giant moa are part of a bird group called ratites. All shows have an accompanying photo. But for those colossal birds, it would be indeed utterly impossible to comprehend, how 200,000 or 300,000 human beings could have lived in New Zealand, a country which even in its vegetable world offered nothing for subsistence, except fern-roots. The powerfully built medium-sized Euryapteryx may have survived until 1700. The defences are convergent with those of many New Zealand plant species. The Moa chicks were also affected by an introduced species - the Polynesian dog known as a 'kuri' - that is also now extinct. The biggest elephant birds great up to 3 metres tall and weighed up to 275 kilograms; kiwis would bump against your shins and smaller species could fit inside an elephant bird’s gargantuan egg. Archaeologists know that the Polynesians who first settled New Zealand ate moas of all ages, as well as the birds’ eggs. Dr. J. Haast notices also the occurrence of bones of the Dinornis in the moraines of the glaciers of South Island, and observes that the present Alpine flora furnished a large quantity of nutritious food quite capable of sustaining the life even of so large a creature; and as the fruits of these plants seem at present to serve no evident purpose in the economy of nature, he argued the former existence of an adequate amount of animal life, to prevent an excessive development of vegetation. The bones were in excellent preservation and perfect condition. He had collected more than 1000 separate bones and also fragments of eggs, which were bought by the British Museum, and furnished Prof. Owen the rich material for this celebrated works on the extinct families of Dinornis and Palapteryx. It had massive legs and taloned claws, vestigial wings and a long, powerful neck. However, that is simply not the case. Ostrich - 6 ft., 300 lbs. 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