Moa is the Only Bird Without Wings

The Moa was the only wingless bird that ever existed.

The moa were hunted to extinction by 1500 by the Maori in New Zealand. They were the only species of birds with no wings. But wait, you say, what about kiwis, emus, and ostriches? Well, these flightless birds, a group of birds called ratites, actually do have wings (some of them vestigials).

Oh, and one more thing. I mentioned New Zealand - have you ever asked yourself where is Old Zealand? New Zealand is actually named after Zeeland, a major seafaring province of the Netherlands, by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1642 (yup, the island of Tasmania is named after him). Captain James Cook misspelled it New Zealand and the name stuck ever since.


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In the early '70s, I spent some time in NZ. In a government building in Wellington, was a large adult moa in a glass case on permanent display. A date in the 1800s was mentioned on the info card.
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Largefromage is totally correct, the Lawn moa was so missed by the people that they made mechanical ones to keep them company. The bring them out on a weekly basis to remind themselves of what they have lost and to hear their melodic calls across suburbia.
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Actually, it was the subspecies which lived up till the 17th century, they were unfortunately wiped out due to the need for the first settlers to maintain manicured `English` gardens. Attracted by the perfectly laid and cut grass in front of the new European style houses, this species became dependent on lawns. Unfortunately the owners were not going to allow these majestic birds to feast upon their gardens without retribution of the worst kind.... Thus, the sad demise of the wonderful, yet defenseless lawn moa came about.
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