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Making New Zealand vol 01 no 01: The Beginning
Moas and Other Extinct Birds
Moas and Other Extinct Birds
The Pleistocene Period was the time when the remarkable flightless moas roamed over a great part of New Zealand in large numbers. Fossil remains are found in the loess, in sand-dunes, in caves, and in greater abundance, in swamps, particularly along the foot-hills of Canterbury. They varied greatly in size, and since they had no mammalian enemies, they flourished exceedingly. They survived until the Recent Period, but authorities differ as to the reasons for their extinction. Some claim, on the evidence of recent excavations, that they were finally killed out by Maori hunters only a few centuries ago.
The moas were the dominant land-dwellers of this period, but they shared the country with several other species now extinct. Of these the most notable are the Notornis, or takahe, and a gigantic eagle, Harpagornis, of which fossil remains are also found in swamp-deposits.
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A moa. This illustration of 'Dinornis ingens' was taken from Walter Rothschild's 'Extinct Birds' (1907).
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A cartoon of the discoveries of moa bones by W. B. D. Mantell, a well-known geologist. The original by James Brown is in the Hocken Library, Dunedin.
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Tuis, which are still found in bush areas in both islands. The songs of these birds have a wonderful musical quality. Tuis probably came to New Zealand from the north a long time ago. The lithograph was taken from Sir W. L. Buller's history of New Zealand birds.
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A lithograph of 'Notornis Mantelli,' of 'takahe,' from Professor R. Owen's 'Memoirs of the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand' (1879).