570 vanished lives

61Cenozoic

A tall flightless predator used a deep hooked beak to strike prey on the ground.

62Cenozoic

Argentavis magnificens was a giant bird from Late Miocene Argentina. Its flight is reconstructed from incomplete fossils and aerodynamic models, not observations of a living bird.

180Cenozoic

This two-meter flightless bird had a deep jaw and powerful legs, probably feeding on soft leaves, fruit and shoots.

250Cenozoic

Its estimated wingspan exceeded six meters, while bony pseudoteeth lined a beak adapted to slippery marine prey.

292Cenozoic

This giant flightless bird had a massive beak, but evidence favors a mainly herbivorous diet.

335Cenozoic

A large soaring bird with an estimated 11–12 ft wingspan; its diet involved more than a simple vulture comparison.

337Cenozoic

A strong flyer belonged near lineages whose living members are mostly flightless.

459Cenozoic

Three meters tall with a massive beak, it was among the heaviest birds.

460Cenozoic

A seventy-centimeter skull and hooked beak armed one of the largest terror birds.

461Cenozoic

A one-and-a-half-meter penguin lived near the equator with a spear-like beak.

462Cenozoic

At almost 1.8 meters, it was a giant diver on a warmer Antarctic coast.

496Cenozoic

Brontornis burmeisteri was a giant flightless bird with exceptionally robust hind limbs.

497Cenozoic

A near-six-meter wingspan and bony pseudoteeth armed a giant seabird.

540Cenozoic

Long legs and a strong beak belonged to a terrestrial bird with little or no flight.

541Cenozoic

A deep beak and massive legs made a heavyweight South American terror bird.

542Cenozoic

A lighter terror bird had long toes suited to rapid pursuit.

543Cenozoic

Its complete inner ear reveals sensitivity to relatively low-frequency sound.

544Cenozoic

Robust leg bones belonged to a giant flightless African bird whose skull remains unknown.

566Cenozoic

A near-human-height diving bird preserves feathers and melanosomes that opened direct study of ancient penguin color.

567Cenozoic

A slender trunk, long bill and large flippers produced a taller silhouette than modern penguins.