Moa in the collection of the Canterbury Museum, Christ 

 Church, New Zealand, measures 39 inches. This is the 

 largest bird-bone known. 



The Moas were among the last of the feathered giants of 

 old to vanish from the earth. Some memory of the living 

 birds still lingers amid the haze of tradition. Early 

 in 1838, Bishop Colenso heard from the natives of 

 Waiapu, New Zealand, tales of a monstrous bird called Moa, 

 that inhabited the mountain sides 80 miles away. Upon the 

 approach of man, two huge lizards, on guard, wakened the 

 giant bird, which then rushed forth and trampled the in- 

 truder to death. Similar traditions in regard to the Moa 

 were' met with in other districts. As time wore on, how- 

 ever, and no man was ever found who had actually seen this 

 notorious bird, its existence, even during the past ten cen- 

 turies, became a mooted question. 



From the remains of this mighty race, scattered broadcast 

 over the island, we have learned something of the size and 

 structure of the departed birds, something even in regard to 

 their color, for in an exceptionally dry cave on the South 

 Island, bones were found, still united by ligaments and 

 bearing patches of skin with feathers of a. chestnut color 

 tipped v/ith vv^hite. 



What agent caused the destruction of this race of giant 

 birds ? One theory supposes it to be the result of a glacial 

 period. Another suggests their extermination at the hand 

 of man, seeking for flesh food. Multitudes of charred bones 

 interspersed with fragments of egg-shell indicate former 

 barbaric feasts, and it may be that cannibalism was the re- 

 sult of this craving for flesh, when the Moa no longer re- 

 mained to afford a less horrible satisfaction ! 



BIBLIOGRAPHY : — 



An interesting and popular account of the Moas as w-ell of 

 other extinct feathered giants, may be found in F. A. Lucas' 

 "Animals of the Past, " CJiarleston Lihrarij Society. Mr. 

 Lucas recommends an article on Moa in Newton's "Diction- 



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