Large flightless birds are well known in the fossil records of the world’s southern continents, but it is usually the ‘terror birds’ of the Phorusrhacidae that usually steal the thunder of the others. Titanis manages to stand out from these other terror birds, not because it was one of the largest or most terrifying, but … Read more
In Depth Phasmagyps is usually credited as being possibly the oldest member of the Cathartidae group of birds, better known as the New World Vultures. However because this genus is so far only represented by a partial leg bone, some researchers have questioned if it actually is a vulture. Additionally the genus is sometimes considered … Read more
In Depth Devincenzia was one of the larger terror birds but was still more gracile than some such as Brontornis. This implies that Devincenzia would have had a greater reliance upon speed and agility while hunting. Actually attacks upon prey may have been a series of heavy downward blows from its beak onto the head … Read more
In Depth Although not certain, Kelenken is a strong contender for the tallest ‘terror bird’ (phorusrhacid) known. This has seen Kelenken firmly placed within the Phorusrhacinae sub group of terror birds, and its remains suggest that it had a more gracile build when compared to the Brontornithinae group that contains large but more robust members … Read more
In Depth Phoeniconotius seems to have been a large flamingo that once lived along the shorelines of saline lakes and lagoons. Some parts of Phoeniconotius such as the skull and legs are not fully known, but the parts which have been studied have indicated a similarity to the genus Megapaloelodus, revealing that Phoeniconotius was at … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - On the remains of Dinornis, an extinct gigantic struthious bird - Richard Owen - 1843. - Extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism in the extinct New Zealand moa Dinornis - Michael Bruce, Trevor H. Worthy, Tom Ford, Will Hoppitt, Eske Willerslev, Alexei Drummond & Alan Cooper - 2003. - Nuclear DNA … Read more
In Depth Confuciusornis is a genus of early bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. The interesting thing about the genus though is that even though it is clearly a primitive bird, it just doesn’t seem to quite fit within the established evolutionary transition of birds. The first birds appeared at least as … Read more
In Depth Pelagornis is a genus of large sea bird that as a genus existed for a very long time during the Paleocene. So large is Pelagornis that the genus is now seriously considered to be a contender for the title of largest known bird capable of flight. This is down to two factors. First … Read more
In Depth Liaoningornis was one of the first of the constantly expanded number of Mesozoic bird genera discovered in China’s Liaoning province, and although the remains are very incomplete, they indicate a fairly more advanced form than other early Cretaceous bird genera. The sternum (breast bone) of Liaoningornis is deeply keeled to allow for the … Read more
In Depth More popularly known as an ‘elephant bird’, Aepyornis is one of the largest birds ever discovered. This size and associated weight meant that Aepyornis was completely flightless, even lacking the deep keeled breast bone for strong chest muscle attachment. Modern analysis shows that Aepyornis and other elephant birds of the Aepyornithidae appear to … Read more