What are the flightless birds in New Zealand?

During 60 million years of isolation, a host of unusual birds evolved in New Zealand. read more

New Zealand had more species of flightless birds (including the kiwi, several species of penguins, the takahe, the weka, the moa, and several other extinct species) than any other such location. One reason is that until the arrival of humans roughly a thousand years ago, there were no large land predators in New Zealand; the main predators of flightless birds were larger birds. read more

Flightless birds are a principal feature of New Zealand's 'edge ecology'. There are 16 extant flightless birds, more than any other region in the world, including 2 rails, 5 ratites, 2 teal, one parrot, and 6 penguin. Another 16 flightless species - 3 rails, 3 wren, and 11 ratites are extinct. read more

Flightless Birds of New Zealand and Australia Cassowary: this large and heavy bird is mainly found in New Guinea, though one species lives in northern Australia. Cassowaries are HUGE birds, standing at 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m) tall, and they have a large bony growth on their heads called a “casque,” which is taller on the female than the male. read more