570 vanished lives

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.

463Recently extinct

Emeus crassus was a medium-sized, flightless moa with a bulky body and short, robust legs.

464Recently extinct

This giant flightless pigeon fought with bony wing knobs and was the dodo's closest relative.

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.