Top Ten Birds SG

The largest bird in the fossil record may be the extinct elephant birds (Aepyornis) of Madagascar, whose closest living relative is the kiwi. They exceeded 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and 500 kg (1,100 lb).[3] The last of the elephant birds became extinct about 300 years ago. Of almost exactly the same upper proportions as the largest elephant birds was Dromornis stirtoni of Australia, part of a 26,000-year-old group called mihirungs of the family Dromornithidae.[4] The largest carnivorous bird was Brontornis, an extinct flightless bird from South America which reached a weight of 350 to 400 kg (770 to 880 lb) and a height of about 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in).[5] The tallest bird ever however was the giant moa (Dinornis maximus), part of the moa family of New Zealand that went extinct around 1500 CE. This particular species of moa stood up to 3.7 m (12 ft) tall,[1] but weighed about half as much as a large elephant bird or mihirung due to its comparatively slender frame