Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 57. Chapters: Adzebill, Apteribis, Asian Ostrich, Barbados Rail, Broad-billed Moa, Bush Moa, Buteogallus borrasi, Canary Islands Quail, Chatham Penguin, Chatham Raven, Chendytes, Cnemiornis, Crested Moa, Dune Shearwater, Eastern Moa, Eyles' Harrier, Forbes' Snipe, Great Ground Dove, Great Maui Crake, Haast's Eagle, Hawaiian honeycreeper, Heavy-footed Moa, Henderson Archaic Pigeon, Henderson Imperial Pigeon, High-billed Crow, Highland Finch, Hodgens' Waterhen, Huahine Cuckoo-Dove, Huahine Gull, Huahine Rail, Huahine Starling, Huahine Swamphen, Ibiza Rail, Kauai Palila, King Kong Grosbeak, Lava Shearwater, Long-billed Wren (New Zealand), Long-legged Bunting, Malagasy Crowned Eagle, Mangaia Crake, Mangaia Rail, Mangaia Swiftlet, Mantell's Moa, Marquesas Swamphen, Maui Nui Finch, Moa-nalo, Nene-nui, New Zealand Musk Duck, New Zealand Raven, New Zealand Stiff-tailed Duck, New Zealand Swan, Niue Night Heron, Niue Rail, North Island Giant Moa, North Island Takahe, Nuku Hiva Rail, Oceanic Eclectus Parrot, Pile-builder Megapode, Prehistoric bird, Puerto Rican Quail-Dove, Saint Croix Macaw, Saint Helena Dove, Saint Helena Shearwater, Scarlett's Duck, Scarlett's Shearwater, Snipe-rail, South Island Giant Moa, Stout-legged Finch, Sylviornis, Tahuata Rail, Talpanas, Teratornis, Terrestrial Caracara, Titanohierax, Trias Greenfinch, Tubuai Rail, Ua Huka Rail, Upland Moa, Waitaha Penguin, Wood Harrier, 'Eua Rail. Excerpt: The moa were nine species (in six genera) of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 m (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kg (510 lb). Moa belong to the ratite group in the order Dinornithiformes. The nine species of moa were the only wingless birds, lacking even the vestigial wings which all other ratites have. They were the dominant herbivores in New Zealand's forest, shrubland and subalpine ecosystems for thousands of years, and until the arrival of the Maori were hunted only by the Haast's Eagle. It is generally considered that most, if not all, species of moa died out due to over-hunting by the Maori, by 1400AD, and habitat decline before European discovery and settlement. Comparison of a kiwi, ostrich, and Dinornis, each with its eggThe kiwi were formerly regarded as the closest relatives of the moa, but comparisons of their DNA in a paper published in 2005 suggested moa were more closely related to the Australian emu and cassowary. However research published in 2010 found that the moa's closest cousins were not the emu and cassowary but smaller terrestrial South American birds called the tinamous which are able to fly. Although dozens of species were described in the late 19th century and early 20th century, many were based on partial skeletons and turned out to be synonyms. Currently, eleven species are formally recognised, although recent studies using ancient DNA recovered from bones in museum collections suggest that distinct lineages exist within some of these. One factor that has caused much confusion in moa taxonomy is the intraspecific variation of bone sizes, between glacial and inter-glacial periods (see Bergmann's rule and Allen's rule) as well as sexual dimorphism being evident in several species. Dinornis seems to have had the most pronounced sexual dimorphism, with females being up to 150% as tall and 280% as heavy as males-so