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A flightless bird of New Zealand

Apteryx

A flightless bird of New Zealand

"This species (Alca impennis or Great Auk), extirpated chiefly by the persecution of fisherman, but subsequently by collectors, resembles a flightless Razorbill, though double the size; it had no white stripes on the head or bill, but shewed a large white patch before each eye. A. impennis, the extinct Great Auk or Garefowl, inhabited the North Atlantic, chiefly in the neighborhood of Ice A. H. Evans, 1900

Great Auk

"This species (Alca impennis or Great Auk), extirpated chiefly by the persecution of fisherman, but…

"Alca Impennis. The Great Auk. A great white oval spot between eye and bill. Hood and mantle dark; under parts white, extending in a point on the throat; ends of secondaries white. Bill black, with white grooves; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Auk

"Alca Impennis. The Great Auk. A great white oval spot between eye and bill. Hood and mantle dark; under…

"The Dodo, ...was an immense Pigeon-like bird bigger than a Turkey, with an aborted keel to the sternum and the wings also aborted. The coracoid and scapula met at an obtuse angle, as in many other flightless species. The huge blackish bill terminated in a large horny hook, the cheeks were partly bare, the short yellow legs were stout, scaly, and feathered on the upper portion; the plumage was dark ash- coloured, with whitish breast and tail, yellowish-white wings, and black tips to their coverts. The short rectrices formed a curled tuft, and the first four primaries were directed backwards." A. H. Evans, 1900

Dodo

"The Dodo, ...was an immense Pigeon-like bird bigger than a Turkey, with an aborted keel to the sternum…

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth in the grooves of both maxilla and mandible, the number being thirty or more below, but considerably less above, where they did not reach to the exterior extremity. The bill was long and pointed, the rami of the lower jaw being entirely separate; the head was rather small, the neck long, and the quadrate bone articulated with the skull by one knob only. The sternum was long, broad, and flat, without keel; the furcula was decidedly reduced, the metatarsus, being little more than a humerus; the tail was fairly long and broad, but had no pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

Restoration of Hesperornis regalis

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth…

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth in the grooves of both maxilla and mandible, the number being thirty or more below, but considerably less above, where they did not reach to the exterior extremity. The bill was long and pointed, the rami of the lower jaw being entirely separate; the head was rather small, the neck long, and the quadrate bone articulated with the skull by one knob only. The sternum was long, broad, and flat, without keel; the furcula was decidedly reduced, the metatarsus, being little more than a humerus; the tail was fairly long and broad, but had no pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

The Restoration of the Hesperornis Regalis

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth…

The Kiwi, a native of New Zealand is closely related to the Ostrich but much smaller. It is also a flightless bird.

Kiwi

The Kiwi, a native of New Zealand is closely related to the Ostrich but much smaller. It is also a flightless…

The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a family of birds of uncertain affinities. They are smallish, near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. Generally brownish with paler undersides, they are of somewhat pheasant-like appearance and were initially placed with the Galliformes. Most commonly, they are placed in the Gruiformes (cranes, rails and allies), but this has been disputed in more recent times. They are the only family with more than two species in which every species is threatened; all three are listed as vulnerable and are expected to decline greatly in the next 20 years.

Mesites

The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a family of birds of uncertain affinities. They are smallish, near…