All articles tagged with #extinct birds
Haast's eagle, the largest eagle ever known with a 3-meter wingspan and tiger paw-sized feet, lived in New Zealand and primarily preyed on moa, large flightless birds. It went extinct around 500-600 years ago following the moa's extinction, and its impressive size and hunting tactics made it a formidable predator of its time.
Researchers have studied fossils of Genyornis newtoni, a 500-pound Ice Age bird that went extinct around 45,000 years ago. New findings from South Australia's Lake Callabonna reveal that this bird, nicknamed the 'Giga-Goose,' had a goose-like bill and adaptations for foraging in water, suggesting it lived in semi-aquatic environments. The study, published in Historical Biology, provides new insights into the bird's morphology and ecological niche, although the exact cause of its extinction remains uncertain.
Graham Cowles, head of bird collections at the Natural History Museum, passed away at the age of 92. In 1974, his excavations on Réunion led to the discovery of the remains of the extinct semi-flightless bird, which helped solve the mystery of the "white dodo". His work also involved identifying various extinct bird species and recovering fragments of the saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise. Cowles, known for his contributions to ornithology, was also a talented musician and a beloved figure at the museum.