THE LARGEST BIRDS THAT FLY 



If the subject of inquiry were the largest bird that 

 ever lived, there can be little doubt that the palm 

 would have to be awarded to the extinct New 

 Zealand Moa (^Dinornis maximus), of which the 

 total height was about lo feet, the tibia, or thigh 

 bone, measuring a yard in length. But this bird, 

 like all the members of its genus, and like the 

 Apteryx, Emu, Cassowary, Rhea, and Ostrich, 

 which survive at the present day, was incapable of 

 flight, and, therefore, for the present purpose need 

 not be compared with those presently to be noticed. 

 As, however, there is some conflict of opinion as to 

 the probable height of the largest species of Moa, 

 and a variation in the statements as to length of 

 tibia in Dinornis maximus, it may be of interest 

 en passant to refer to it. According to Messrs 

 Nicholson and Lydekker {Manual of Palceontology, 

 3rd edit., 1889), the height (as above stated) was 

 10 feet, and the length of tibia 3 feet In Professor 

 Newton's admirable Dictionary of Birds (art. 

 "Moa") it is stated xkvsX Dinornis maximus is the 

 largest of all the species, having a tibia measuring 

 39 in., and probably reaching a height of 12 feet 

 The former statement having been published 

 in 1889, and the latter in 1894, suggests as a pos- 



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