Facts about some extinct birds
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| Archaeopteryx |
- Many species of birds that once lived on the earth have disappeared. They have, as scientists say, become extinct.
- Archaeopteryx is the oldest bird scientists know about. It lived far back in the days of dinosaurs. There have been no birds of this kind for over 100 million years.
- The name Archaeopteryx means "ancient wing."
- The Archaeopteryx was very different from any bird of today. It had no horny bill. Instead, it had sharp teeth—something no bird of today has. On its wings it had sharp claws. And its tail was much like a lizard's tail even though it had feathers on it.
- Archaeopteryx was about the size of a crow. Their wings were too weak to lift them off the ground.
- Diatryma was one of the ancient flightless birds. This big bird was as tall as a man. It had stout legs, a large head, and a big beak ending in a sharp hook. Diatryma lived about 50 million years ago.
- Phororhacos bird was some-what like Diatryma, although it lived about 30 million years later. It, too, was as tall as a man. Phororhacos head was as big as the head of one of today's horses.
- Hesperornis was an ancient bird. Like Archaeopteryx, it lived in the days of dinosaurs. It, too, had sharp teeth. Hesperornis was about four feet long. It had only traces of wings.
- Aepyornis, another big flightless bird, lived during the great Ice Age.
- The tallest birds anyone knows about were moas. Some were no larger than turkeys, but some grew to be 3.7 m (12 ft) tall, and weighed about 230 kg (510 lb)
- The moas lived in New Zealand. They did not disappear so very long ago.
- The dodo lived on two islands in the Indian Ocean. It was killed off by men, pigs, and monkeys. The dodo has been extinct for about 300 years.
