Elephant Bird
Elephant birds are an extinct family of flightless birds found only on the island of Madagascar and comprising the genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis.
They are among the heaviest known birds (Dromornis stirtoni of Australia reached a similar weight). The reasons for and timings of their extinctions remain unclear, although there are written accounts of elephant bird sightings on the island in the 17th century.
Read more about Elephant Bird: Description, Species, Taxonomy and Biogeography
Famous quotes containing the words elephant and/or bird:
“The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy; his legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I never saw a wild thing
Sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead
From a bough
Without ever having felt sorry for itself.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)