New Zealand Kiwi, Takahe, Extinct Moa, 1870

New Zealand Kiwi, Takahe, Extinct Moa, 1870

"New Zealand fauna past and present," from "'Te Ika a Maui, or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants," 1870, including the indigenous moa, kiwi, and a takahe (second from left). The person at far left is a maori hunter, with his spear aimed at a moa. Moa were nine species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand; extinction occurred around 1440, primarily due to overhunting by Maori. The takahe, Notornis, or South Island takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand and belonging to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on 20 November 1948. Kiwi are flightless birds native to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites (which also consist of ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries), and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world.

Album / Science Source / British Library

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3750 x 2439 px | 26.2 MB

31.8 x 20.7 cm | 12.5 x 8.1 in (300 dpi)