Lives & losses
15 Extinct Flightless Birds
From island pigeons and giant moas to terror birds and diving specialists, explore the many ways birds adapted to a life without powered flight.
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How this list was selected
Selected extinct birds interpreted as flightless in their atlas records, spanning prehistoric and historical losses. Flightlessness evolved independently in different groups; it does not mean all were closely related or helpless. Swimming specialists and land-dwelling giants are included. This is not a body-size ranking.
In this guide 15
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15 atlas records
About 1,500 years ago–late 17th century
Dodo
Raphus cucullatus
Flightlessness was not a failure, but the result of evolving on an island without large predators.
Mauritius
About 5 million years ago–1844
Great Auk
Pinguinus impennis
This flightless North Atlantic seabird used its wings as powerful underwater paddles.
Rocky islands of the North Atlantic
Prehistory–15th century
South Island Giant Moa
Dinornis robustus
One of the tallest birds ever known browsed forests without wings of any kind.
South Island, New Zealand
About 2 million–1,000 years ago
Elephant Bird
Aepyornis maximus
These massive flightless birds laid the largest eggs known from any vertebrate.
Madagascar
About 1,000 years ago–mid-18th century
Rodrigues solitaire
Pezophaps solitaria
This giant flightless pigeon fought with bony wing knobs and was the dodo's closest relative.
Dry woodland · Rodrigues Island
About 1.8 million–47,000 years ago
Genyornis
Genyornis newtoni
This two-meter flightless bird had a deep jaw and powerful legs, probably feeding on soft leaves, fruit and shoots.
Inland Australian lakes and open woodland
About 56–45 million years ago
Gastornis
Gastornis parisiensis
This giant flightless bird had a massive beak, but evidence favors a mainly herbivorous diet.
Warm forests and wetlands · Europe
About 20–10 million years ago
Terror Bird
Phorusrhacos longissimus
A tall flightless predator used a deep hooked beak to strike prey on the ground.
Southern South America
About 15 million years ago
Kelenken
Kelenken guillermoi
A seventy-centimeter skull and hooked beak armed one of the largest terror birds.
Open woodland and grassland · Argentina
About 8 million years ago
Dromornis
Dromornis stirtoni
Three meters tall with a massive beak, it was among the heaviest birds.
Dry woodland and plains · Australia
About 20,000 years ago–13th century
Aptornis
Aptornis otidiformis
Powerful legs and a heavy bill belonged to a flightless ground forager.
Forest, wetland and coast · North Island, New Zealand
About 30,000–3,000 years ago
Sylviornis
Sylviornis neocaledoniae
This tall flightless island bird was closer to megapodes than its heavy build suggested.
Forest and scrub · New Caledonia
About 1,200 years ago–15th century
Emeus
Emeus crassus
Strong legs carried a medium moa whose feathers resembled shaggy hair.
Lowland forest and scrub · South Island, New Zealand
About 83–78 million years ago
Hesperornis
Hesperornis regalis
Its wings shrank to small bones while rear-set legs turned it into a superb Mesozoic pursuit diver.
Warm inland seas and coasts · North America
About 36 million years ago
Icadyptes
Icadyptes salasi
A one-and-a-half-meter penguin lived near the equator with a spear-like beak.
Warm Pacific coast · Peru
