![Extinct flightless bird (21128386393)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Extinct_flightless_bird_%2821128386393%29.jpg)
Flightless birds are
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s that through
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
lost the ability to
fly. There are over 60 extant species,
[ including the well known ]ratites
A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites.
The systematics ...
(ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
es, emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
, cassowaries, rheas
The rheas ( ), also known as ñandus ( ) or South American ostriches, are large ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu. Most tax ...
, and kiwi
Kiwi most commonly refers to:
* Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand
* Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders
* Kiwifruit, an edible berry
* Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency
Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...
) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail
The Inaccessible Island rail (''Laterallus rogersi'') is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. Endemic to Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago in the isolated south Atlantic, it is the smallest extant flightless bird in the worl ...
(length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7 g). The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
(2.7 m, 156 kg).
Many domesticated birds, such as the domestic chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...
and domestic duck
The domestic duck or domestic mallard (''Anas platyrhynchos domesticus'') is a subspecies of mallard that has been domesticated by humans and raised for meat, eggs, and down feathers. A few are also kept for show, as pets, or for their ornament ...
, have lost the ability to fly for extended periods, although their ancestral species, the red junglefowl
The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus'') is a tropical bird in the family Phasianidae. It ranges across much of Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. It was formerly known as the Bankiva or Bankiva Fowl. It is the species that gave rise to the ...
and mallard, respectively, are capable of extended flight. A few particularly bred birds, such as the Broad Breasted White turkey, have become totally flightless as a result of selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...
; the birds were bred to grow massive breast meat that weighs too much for the bird's wings to support in flight.
Flightlessness has evolved in many different birds independently, demonstrating repeated convergent evolution. There were families of flightless birds, such as the now extinct Phorusrhacidae
Phorusrhacids, colloquially known as terror birds, are an extinct clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were one of the largest species of apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era; their conventionally accepted temporal ...
, that evolved to be powerful terrestrial predators. Taking this to a greater extreme, the terror birds
Phorusrhacids, colloquially known as terror birds, are an extinct clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were one of the largest species of apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era; their conventionally accepted tempor ...
(and their relatives the bathornithids), eogruids, geranoidids, gastornithiforms, and dromornithids (all extinct) all evolved similar body shapes – long legs, long necks and big heads – but none of them were closely related. Furthermore, they also share traits of being giant, flightless birds with vestigial wings, long legs, and long necks with some of the ratites, although they are not related.
History
Origins of flightlessness
Divergences and losses of flight within ratite lineage occurred right after the K-Pg extinction event wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and large vertebrates 66 million years ago. The immediate evacuation of niches following the mass extinction provided opportunities for Palaeognathes to distribute and occupy novel environments. New ecological influences selectively pressured different taxa to converge on flightless modes of existence by altering them morphologically and behaviorally. The successful acquisition and protection of a claimed territory selected for large size and cursorial
A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often us ...
ity in Tertiary ancestors of ratites. Temperate rainforests dried out throughout the Miocene and transformed into semiarid deserts, causing habitats to be widely spread across the growingly disparate landmasses. Cursoriality was an economic means of traveling long distances to acquire food that was usually low-lying vegetation, more easily accessed by walking. Traces of these events are reflected in ratite distribution throughout semiarid grasslands and deserts today.
Gigantism and flightlessness in birds are almost exclusively correlated due to islands lacking mammalian
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...
or reptilian predators and competition. However, ratites occupy environments that are mostly occupied by a diverse number of mammals. It is thought that they first originated through allopatric speciation caused by breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. However, later evidence suggests this hypothesis first proposed by Joel Cracraft in 1974 is incorrect. Rather ratites arrived in their respective locations via a flighted ancestor and lost the ability to fly multiple times within the lineage.
Gigantism is not a requirement for flightlessness. The kiwi do not exhibit gigantism, along with tinamou
Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...
s, even though they coexisted with the moa and rheas that both exhibit gigantism. This could be the result of different ancestral flighted birds arrival or because of competitive exclusion. The first flightless bird to arrive in each environment utilized the large flightless herbivore or omnivore niche, forcing the later arrivals to remain smaller. In environments where flightless birds are not present, it is possible that after the K/T Boundary there were no niches for them to fill. They were pushed out by other herbivorous mammals
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
.
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
had more species of flightless birds (including the kiwi
Kiwi most commonly refers to:
* Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand
* Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders
* Kiwifruit, an edible berry
* Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency
Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...
, several species of penguins, the takahē
The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...
, the weka
The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus '' Gallirallus''. Four subspecies are recogni ...
, 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.
Independent evolution of flightlessness in Palaeognathes
Ratites belong to the superorder Palaeognathae, which include the volant tinamou
Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...
, and are believed to have evolved flightlessness independently multiple times within their own group. Some birds evolved flightlessness in response to the absence of predators, for example on oceanic island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s. Incongruences between ratite phylogeny and Gondwana geological history indicate the presence of ratites in their current locations is the result of a secondary invasion by flying birds. It remains possible that the most recent common ancestor of ratites was flightless and the tinamou regained the ability to fly. However, it is believed that the loss of flight is an easier transition for birds than the loss and regain of flight, which has never been documented in avian history. Moreover, tinamou nesting within flightless ratites indicates ancestral ratites were volant and multiple losses of flight occurred independently throughout the lineage. This indicates that the distinctive flightless nature of ratites is the result of convergent evolution.
Morphological changes and energy conservation
Two key differences between flying and flightless birds are the smaller wing bones of flightless birds and the absent (or greatly reduced) keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
on their breastbone. (The keel anchors muscles needed for wing movement.)
Adapting to a cursorial lifestyle causes two inverse morphological changes to occur in the skeleto-muscular system: the pectoral apparatus used to power flight is paedorphically reduced while peramorphosis
In evolutionary developmental biology, heterochrony is any genetically controlled difference in the timing, rate, or duration of a developmental process in an organism compared to its ancestors or other organisms. This leads to changes in the ...
leads to enlargement of the pelvic girdle for running. Repeated selection for cursorial traits across ratites suggests these adaptions comprise a more efficient use of energy in adulthood. The name "ratite" comes from the Latin ''ratis'', raft, a vessel with no keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
. Their flat sternum is distinct from the typical sternum of flighted birds because it lacks a keel, like a raft. This structure is the place where flight muscles attach and thus allow for powered flight. However, ratite anatomy presents other primitive characters meant for flight, such as the fusion of wing elements, a cerebellar structure, the presence of a pygostyle
Pygostyle describes a skeletal condition in which the final few caudal vertebrae are fused into a single ossification, supporting the tail feathers and musculature. In modern birds, the rectrices attach to these. The pygostyle is the main compone ...
for tail feathers, and an alula
The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...
on the wing. These morphological traits suggest some affinities to volant groups. Palaeognathes were one of the first colonizers of novel niches and were free to increase in abundance until the population was limited by food and territory. A study looking at energy conservation and the evolution of flightlessness hypothesized intraspecific competition selected for a reduced individual energy expenditure, which is achieved by the loss of flight.
Some flightless varieties of island birds are closely related to flying varieties, implying flight is a significant biological cost. Flight is the most costly type of locomotion exemplified in the natural world. The energy expenditure required for flight increases proportionally with body size, which is often why flightlessness coincides with body mass. By reducing large pectoral muscles that require a significant amount of overall metabolic energy, ratites decrease their basal metabolic rate and conserve energy. A study looking at the basal rates of birds found a significant correlation between low basal rate and pectoral muscle mass in kiwis. On the contrary, flightless penguins exhibit an intermediate basal rate. This is likely because penguins have well-developed pectoral muscles for hunting and diving in the water. For ground feeding birds, a cursorial lifestyle is more economical and allows for easier access to dietary requirements. Flying birds have different wing and feather structures that make flying easier, while flightless birds' wing structures are well adapted to their environment and activities, such as diving in the ocean.
Species with certain characteristics are more likely to evolve flightlessness. For example, species that already have shorter wings are more likely to lose flight ability. Additionally, birds that undergo simultaneous wing molt, in which they replace all of the feathers in their wings at once during the year, are more likely to evolve flight loss.
A number of bird species appear to be in the process of losing their powers of flight to various extents. These include the Zapata rail
The Zapata rail (''Cyanolimnas cerverai'') is a medium-sized, dark-coloured rail, the only member of the monotypic genus ''Cyanolimnas''. It has brown upperparts, greyish-blue underparts, a red-based yellow bill, white undertail coverts, and re ...
of Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, the Okinawa rail of Japan, and the Laysan duck
The Laysan duck (''Anas laysanensis''), also known as the Laysan teal, is a dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Fossil evidence reveals that Laysan ducks once lived across the entire archipelago, but today survive only on Laysan Is ...
of Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. All of these birds show adaptations common to flightlessness, and evolved recently from fully flighted ancestors, but have not yet completely given up the ability to fly. They are, however, weak fliers and are incapable of traveling long distances by air.
Continued presence of wings in flightless birds
Although selection pressure
Any cause that reduces or increases reproductive success in a portion of a population potentially exerts evolutionary pressure, selective pressure or selection pressure, driving natural selection. It is a quantitative description of the amount of ...
for flight was largely absent, the wing structure has not been lost except in the New Zealand moas. Ostriches are the fastest running birds in the world and emus have been documented running 50 km/h. At these high speeds, wings are necessary for balance and serving as a parachute apparatus to help the bird slow down. Wings are hypothesized to have played a role in sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...
in early ancestral ratites and were thus maintained. This can be seen today in both the rheas and ostriches. These ratites utilize their wings extensively for courtship and displays to other males. Sexual selection also influences the maintenance of large body size, which discourages flight. The large size of ratites leads to greater access to mates and higher reproductive success
Reproductive success is an individual's production of offspring per breeding event or lifetime. This is not limited by the number of offspring produced by one individual, but also the reproductive success of these offspring themselves.
Reproduct ...
. Ratites and tinamous are monogamous and mate only a limited number of times per year. High parental involvement denotes the necessity for choosing a reliable mate. In a climatically stable habitat providing year round food supply, a male's claimed territory signals to females the abundance of resources readily available to her and her offspring. Male size also indicates his protective abilities. Similar to the emperor penguin, male ratites incubate and protect their offspring anywhere between 85 and 92 days while females feed. They can go up to a week without eating and survive only off fat stores. The emu has been documented fasting as long as 56 days. If no continued pressures warrant the energy expenditure to maintain the structures of flight, selection will tend towards these other traits.
The only known species of flightless bird in which wings completely disappeared was the gigantic, herbivorous moa
Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand.
The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as
Kale moa and Moa Samoa.
Moa or MOA may also refe ...
of New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, hunted to extinction by humans by the 15th century. In moa, the entire pectoral girdle
The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists of ...
is reduced to a paired scapulocoracoid The scapulocoracoid is the unit of the pectoral girdle that contains the coracoid and scapula.
The coracoid itself is a beak-shaped bone that is commonly found in most vertebrates with a few exceptions.
The scapula is commonly known as the ''shoulde ...
, which is the size of a finger.
List of flightless birds
Many flightless birds are extinct; this list shows species that are either still extant, or became extinct in the Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
(no more than 11,000 years ago). Extinct species are indicated with a cross (†). A number of species suspected, but not confirmed to be flightless, are also included here.
Longer-extinct groups of flightless birds include the Cretaceous patagopterygiformes, hesperornithids, the Cenozoic phorusrhacids
Phorusrhacids, colloquially known as terror birds, are an extinct clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were one of the largest species of apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era; their conventionally accepted temporal ...
("terror birds") and related bathornithids, the unrelated eogruids, geranoidids, gastornithiforms, and dromornithids (mihirungs or "demon ducks"), and the plotopterids.
Ratites
* Ostriches
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There a ...
** Common ostrich
The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...
, ''Struthio camelus''
** Somali ostrich
The Somali ostrich (''Struthio molybdophanes''), also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is a large flightless bird native to the Horn of Africa. It is one of two living species of ostriches, the other being the common ostrich. It was also previo ...
, ''Struthio molybdophanes''
** Asian ostrich, ''Struthio asiaticus'' †
* Emus
** Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
, ''Dromaius novaehollandiae''
*** King Island emu
The King Island emu (''Dromaius novaehollandiae minor'') is an extinct subspecies of emu that was endemic to King Island, in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Its closest relative may be the extinct Tasmanian emu (''D ...
, ''Dromaius (novaehollandiae) minor'' †
*** Kangaroo Island emu
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
, ''Dromaius (novaehollandiae) baudinianus'' †
*** Tasmanian emu
The Tasmanian emu (''Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis'') is an extinct subspecies of emu. It was found in Tasmania, where it had become isolated during the Late Pleistocene. As opposed to the other insular emu taxa, the King Island emu and t ...
, ''Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis'' †
* Cassowaries
** Dwarf cassowary
The dwarf cassowary (''Casuarius bennetti''), also known as Bennett's cassowary, little cassowary, mountain cassowary or muruk, is the smallest of the three species of cassowaries.
Taxonomy
The scientific name commemorates the Australian natura ...
, ''Casuarius bennetti''
** Southern cassowary
The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf c ...
, ''Casuarius casuarius''
** Northern cassowary
The northern cassowary (''Casuarius unappendiculatus'') also known as the one-wattled cassowary, single-wattled cassowary, or golden-necked cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea. It is one of the three living spec ...
, ''Casuarius unappendiculatus''
* Moa
Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand.
The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as
Kale moa and Moa Samoa.
Moa or MOA may also refe ...
(Dinornithiformes) †, several species
* Elephant bird
Elephant birds are members of the extinct ratite family Aepyornithidae, made up of flightless birds that once lived on the island of Madagascar. They are thought to have become extinct around 1000-1200 CE, probably as a result of human activity. ...
s (Aepyornithiformes) †, several species
* Kiwis
** Southern brown kiwi
The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of kiwi from South Island, New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by ...
, ''Apteryx australis''
** Great spotted kiwi
The great spotted kiwi, great grey kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) or roroa (''Apteryx haastii'') is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The great spotted kiwi, as a member of the ratites, is flightless. It is the larg ...
, ''Apteryx haastii''
** North Island brown kiwi
The North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli''; ''Apteryx australis'' or ''Apteryx bulleri'' as before 2000, still used in some sources) is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand an ...
, ''Apteryx mantelli''
** Little spotted kiwi
The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi (''Apteryx owenii'') is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family Apterygidae. It is the smallest species of all five kiwis, at about , about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and i ...
, ''Apteryx owenii''
** Okarito kiwi, ''Apteryx rowi''
* Rheas
The rheas ( ), also known as ñandus ( ) or South American ostriches, are large ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu. Most tax ...
** Greater rhea
The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). One of two sp ...
, ''Rhea americana''
** Lesser rhea
Darwin's rhea or the lesser rhea (''Rhea pennata'') is a large flightless bird, the smaller of the two Extant taxon, extant species of rhea (bird), rheas. It is found in the Altiplano and Patagonia in South America.
Description
The lesser rh ...
, ''Rhea pennata''
Galliformes (game birds)
* New Caledonian giant scrubfowl, ''Sylviornis neocaledoniae'' †
* Noble megapode, ''Megavitornis altirostris'' †
* Viti Levu scrubfowl
The Viti Levu scrubfowl (''Megapodius amissus''), also known as the Fiji scrubfowl or lost megapode, is an extinct megapode that was endemic to Fiji. The epithet ''amissus'', from Latin "lost", refers to its extinction. Subfossil remains wer ...
, ''Megapodius amissus'' †
Anseriformes (waterfowl)
* Auckland Island teal, ''Anas aucklandica''
* Campbell teal
The Campbell teal or Campbell Island teal (''Anas nesiotis'') is a small, flightless, nocturnal species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' endemic to the Campbell Island group of New Zealand. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the ...
, ''Anas nesiotis''
* Steamer ducks
** Fuegian steamer duck
The Fuegian steamer duck (''Tachyeres pteneres'') or the Magellanic flightless steamer duck, is a flightless duck native to South America. It belongs to the steamer duck genus ''Tachyeres''. It inhabits the rocky coasts and coastal islands from ...
, ''Tachyeres pteneres''
** Falkland steamer duck
The Falkland steamer duck (''Tachyeres brachypterus'') is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap the ...
, ''Tachyeres brachypterus''
** Chubut steamer duck, ''Tachyeres leucocephalus''
* Amsterdam wigeon
The Amsterdam wigeon (''Mareca marecula'', formerly ''Anas marecula''), also known as the Amsterdam Island duck or Amsterdam duck, was a species of anatid waterfowl, endemic to Île Amsterdam (Amsterdam Island), the French Southern Territories. ...
, ''Anas marecula'' †
* Bermuda flightless duck, ''Anas pachyscelus'' †
* Finsch's duck
Finsch's duck (''Chenonetta finschi'') was a large terrestrial species of duck formerly endemic to New Zealand. The species was possibly once the most common duck in New Zealand, a supposition based on the frequency of its fossils in bone deposit ...
, ''Chenonetta finschi'' †
* Moa-nalo
The moa-nalo are a group of extinct aberrant, goose-like ducks that lived on the larger Hawaiian Islands, except Hawaii itself, in the Pacific. They were the major herbivores on most of these islands until they became extinct after human settle ...
†
** Turtle-jawed moa-nalo
The turtle-jawed moa-nalo (''Chelychelynechen quassus''), also formerly referred to as the large Kauai goose, is a species of moa-nalo, one of a group of extinct, flightless, large goose-like ducks, which evolved in the Hawaiian Islands of t ...
, ''Chelychelynechen quassus'' †
** Small-billed moa-nalo
The small-billed moa-nalo (''Ptaiochen pau''), also known as the stumbling moa-nalo, is a species of moa-nalo, one of a group of extinct, flightless, large goose-like ducks, which evolved in the Hawaiian Islands of the North Pacific Ocean. It wa ...
, ''Ptaiochen pau'' †
** O'ahu moa-nalo
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
, ''Thambetochen xanion'' †
** Maui Nui large-billed moa-nalo
The Maui Nui large-billed moa-nalo (''Thambetochen chauliodous''), also known as the Maui Nui moa-nalo, is one of two species of moa-nalo in the genus ''Thambetochen''. Moa-nalo are a group of extinct, flightless, large goose-like ducks, which e ...
, ''Thambetochen chauliodous'' †
* Nēnē-nui, ''Branta hylobadistes'' † (possibly flightless or very weak flier)
* Giant Hawaiʻi goose, ''Branta rhuax'' †
* Mihirung'', Genyornis newtoni
''Genyornis newtoni'', also known as thunder bird and mihirung paringmal (meaning "giant bird"), is an extinct species of large, flightless bird that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch until around 50,000 years ago. Over two met ...
'' †
* California flightless sea-duck or Law's diving goose, ''Chendytes lawi
''Chendytes lawi'' is an extinct, goose-sized flightless marine duck, once common on the California coast, the California Channel Islands, and possibly southern Oregon. It lived in the Pleistocene and survived into the Holocene. It appears to ha ...
'' †
* Kaua'i mole duck, ''Talpanas lippa'' †
* New Zealand geese
The New Zealand goose is the common name given to the extinct genus ''Cnemiornis'' of the family Anatidae, subfamily Anserinae.
The genus, endemic to New Zealand, consisted of two species: the North Island goose, ''C. gracilis'' and the Sout ...
, ''Cnemiornis gracilis'' and ''C. calcitrans'' †
Aegotheliformes (owlet-nightjars)
* New Zealand owlet-nightjar, ''Aegotheles novaezealandiae'' †
Mesitornithiformes (mesites)
* Brown mesite ''Mesitornis unicolor'' (possibly flightless, has not been seen flying)
Columbiformes (pigeons, doves)
* Dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...
, ''Raphus cucullatus'' †
* Rodrigues solitaire
The Rodrigues solitaire (''Pezophaps solitaria'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most closely relate ...
, ''Pezophaps solitaria'' †
* Viti Levu giant pigeon, ''Natunaornis gigoura'' †
* Saint Helena dove
The Saint Helena dove (''Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos'') was a species of flightless bird in the family Columbidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Dysmoropelia''. It was endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is ...
, ''Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos'' †
* Henderson ground dove, ''Gallicolumba leonpascoi'' †
Gruiformes (cranes, rails, and coots)
* Cuban flightless crane, ''Grus cubensis'' †
* Red rail, ''Aphanapteryx bonasia'' †
* Rodrigues rail
The Rodrigues rail (''Erythromachus leguati''), also known as Leguat's gelinote or Leguat's rail, is an extinct species of the rail family that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It is ge ...
, ''Erythromachus leguati'' †
* Woodford's rail
Woodford's rail (''Hypotaenidia woodfordi'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae.
Distribution and habitat
It is endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropi ...
, ''Nesoclopeus woodfordi'' (most likely flightless)
* Bar-winged rail
The bar-winged rail (''Hypotaenidia poeciloptera'') was a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It was endemic to Fiji and was last collected ca 1890 in Viti Levu. The species was identified from twelve 19th century specimens, some of which are ...
, ''Nesoclopeus poecilopterus'' † (probably flightless)
* Weka
The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus '' Gallirallus''. Four subspecies are recogni ...
, ''Gallirallus australis''
* New Caledonian rail
The New Caledonian rail (''Cabalus lafresnayanus'') is a large and drab flightless rail that is found on the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. It is a dull brown above, with grey underparts, and has a yellowish, downward-curving bill. No ...
, ''Gallirallus lafresnayanus'' (likely †)
* Lord Howe woodhen
The Lord Howe woodhen (''Hypotaenidia sylvestris'') also known as the Lord Howe Island woodhen or Lord Howe (Island) rail, is a flightless bird of the rail family, (Rallidae). It is endemic to Lord Howe Island off the Australian coast. It is curr ...
, ''Gallirallus sylvestris''
* Calayan rail
The Calayan rail (''Aptenorallus calayanensis'') is a flightless bird of the rail, moorhen, and coot family (Rallidae) that inhabits Calayan Island in the Philippines. It is the only member of the genus ''Aptenorallus''. Though well known to nat ...
, ''Gallirallus calayanensis''
* Pink-legged rail, ''Gallirallus insignis''
* Guam rail
The Guam rail (''Hypotaenidia owstoni'') is a species of flightless bird, endemic to the United States territory of Guam, where it is known locally as the ''Ko'ko bird. The Guam rail disappeared from southern Guam in the early 1970s and was ext ...
, ''Gallirallus owstoni''
* Roviana rail, ''Gallirallus rovianae'' (flightless, or almost so)
* Tahiti rail, ''Gallirallus pacificus'' †
* Dieffenbach's rail
Dieffenbach's rail (Moriori: ''meriki'' or ''mehoriki'', ''Hypotaenidia dieffenbachii'') is an extinct flightless species of bird from the family Rallidae. It was endemic to the Chatham Islands. The only recorded living specimen of Dieffenbach ...
, ''Gallirallus dieffenbachii'' †
* Wake Island rail
The extinct Wake Island rail (''Hypotaenidia wakensis'') was a flightless rail and the only native land bird on the Pacific atoll of Wake. It was found on the islands of Wake and Wilkes, but not on Peale, which is separated from the others by a ...
, ''Gallirallus wakensis'' †
* numerous other unnamed ''Gallirallus
''Gallirallus'' is a genus of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct ...
'' rails from various Pacific islands
* Chatham rail
The Chatham rail (''Cabalus modestus'') is an extinct flightless species of bird in the family Rallidae. It was endemic to Chatham, Mangere and Pitt Islands, in the Chatham archipelago of New Zealand.
The Chatham rail and the Dieffenbach's ...
, ''Cabalus modestus'' †
* Snoring rail, ''Aramidopsis plateni''
* Invisible rail
The invisible rail, Wallace's rail, or drummer rail (''Habroptila wallacii'') is a large flightless rail that is endemic to the island of Halmahera in Northern Maluku, Indonesia, where it inhabits impenetrable sago swamps adjacent to forests. ...
, ''Habroptila wallacii''
* New Guinea flightless rail, ''Megacrex inepta''
* Aldabra (white-throated) rail, ''Dryolimnas (cuvieri) aldabranus''
* Réunion rail, ''Dryolimnas augusti'' †
* Sauzier's wood rail or Cheke's wood rail, ''Dryolimnas chekei'' †
* Inaccessible Island rail
The Inaccessible Island rail (''Laterallus rogersi'') is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. Endemic to Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago in the isolated south Atlantic, it is the smallest extant flightless bird in the worl ...
, ''Atlantisia rogersi''
* Saint Helena rail, ''Aphanocrex podarces'' †
* Ascension crake, ''Mundia elpenor'' †
* Saint Helena crake
The Saint Helena crake (''Zapornia astrictocarpus'') is an extinct bird species from the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, one of two flightless rails which survived there until the early 16th century.Storrs L. Olson, Paleorni ...
, ''Porzana astrictocarpus'' †
* Laysan rail
The Laysan rail or Laysan crake (''Zapornia palmeri'') was a flightless bird endemic to the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, includ ...
, ''Porzana palmeri'' †
* Hawaiian rail
The Hawaiian rail (''Zapornia sandwichensis''), Hawaiian spotted rail, or Hawaiian crake is an extinct species of diminutive rail that lived on Big Island of Hawaii.
A dark form and a lighter, spotted one are known (see below).
Taxonomy
Co ...
, ''Porzana sandwichensis'' †
* Small Maui crake, ''Porzana keplerorum'' †
* Liliput crake, ''Porzana menehune'' †
* Great Oʻahu crake, ''Porzana ralphorum'' †
* Great Maui crake, ''Porzana severnsi'' †
* Small Oʻahu crake, ''Porzana ziegleri'' †
* Kosrae crake, ''Porzana monasa'' †
* Henderson crake
The Henderson crake or red-eyed crake (''Zapornia atra'') is a species of flightless bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to Henderson Island in the southeast Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth' ...
, ''Porzana atra''
* Mangaia crake, ''Porzana rua'' †
* Tahiti crake, ''Porzana nigra'' †
* numerous other unnamed ''Porzana
''Porzana'' is a genus of birds in the crake and rail family, Rallidae. Its scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake (''P. porzana'') is the type species.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Porzana'' was erected by t ...
'' crakes from various Pacific islands
* Lord Howe swamphen
The white swamphen (''Porphyrio albus''), also known as the Lord Howe swamphen, Lord Howe gallinule or white gallinule, is an extinct species of rail which lived on Lord Howe Island, east of Australia. It was first encountered when the crews ...
, ''Porphyrio albus'' †
* North Island takahē, ''Porphyrio mantelli'' †
* Takahē
The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...
, ''Porphyrio hochstetteri''
* Samoan woodhen, ''Gallinula pacifica''
* Makira woodhen
The Makira woodhen (''Gallinula silvestris''), also known as the Makira moorhen, is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtr ...
, ''Gallinula silvestris''
* Tristan moorhen, ''Gallinula nesiotis'' †
* Gough Island moorhen, ''Gallinula comeri''
* Tasmanian native hen, ''Tribonyx mortierii''
* Giant coot, ''Fulica gigantea'' (adults only; immature birds can fly)
* Hawkins' rail
Hawkins's rail (''Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi''), also called the giant Chatham Island rail or mehonui, is an extinct species of flightless rail. It was endemic to the Chatham Islands east of New Zealand. It is known to have existed only on the main ...
, ''Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi'' †
* Snipe-rail, ''Capellirallus karamu †''
* Antillean cave rail, ''Nesotrochis debooyi'' †
* Hispaniolan cave rail, ''Nesotrochis steganinos'' †
* Cuban cave rail, ''Nesotrochis picapicensis'' †
* Adzebill
The adzebills, genus ''Aptornis'', were two closely related bird species, the North Island adzebill, (''Aptornis otidiformis''), and the South Island adzebill, (''Aptornis defossor''), of the extinct family Aptornithidae. The family was endemic ...
s, ''Aptornis otidiformis'' and ''A. defossor'' †
Podicipediformes (grebes)
* Junín grebe, ''Podiceps taczanowskii''
* Titicaca grebe
The Titicaca grebe (''Rollandia microptera''), also known as the Titicaca flightless grebe or short-winged grebe, is a grebe found on the altiplano of Peru and Bolivia. As its name implies, its main population occurs on Lake Titicaca. Lake Uru ...
, ''Rollandia microptera''
* Atitlán grebe
The Atitlán grebe (''Podilymbus gigas''), also known as giant grebe, giant pied-billed grebe, or poc, is an extinct water bird, a relative of the pied-billed grebe. It was endemic at the Lago de Atitlán in Guatemala at an altitude of 1700 m ...
, ''Podilymbus gigas'' † (reportedly flightless)
Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies)
* Great auk, ''Pinguinus impennis'' †
Sphenisciformes (penguins)
* Emperor penguin, ''Aptenodytes forsteri''
* King penguin
The king penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'') is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: ''A. p. patagonicus'' and ''A. p. halli''; ''patagonicus'' ...
, ''Aptenodytes patagonicus''
* Adélie penguin, ''Pygoscelis adeliae''
* Chinstrap penguin, ''Pygoscelis antarctica''
* Gentoo penguin
The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ea ...
, ''Pygoscelis papua''
* Little blue penguin
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name .
The Australian lit ...
, ''Eudyptula minor''
* Magellanic penguin
The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...
, ''Spheniscus magellanicus''
* Humboldt penguin
The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...
, ''Spheniscus humboldti''
* Galapagos penguin, ''Spheniscus mendiculus''
* African penguin, ''Spheniscus demersus''
* Yellow-eyed penguin
The yellow-eyed penguin (''Megadyptes antipodes''), known also as hoiho or tarakaka, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand.
Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (''Eudyptula minor''), molecular research has shown it ...
, ''Megadyptes antipodes''
* Waitaha penguin
The Waitaha penguin (''Megadyptes waitaha'') is an extinct species of New Zealand penguin described in 2009.
Taxonomy
The new species was discovered by University of Otago and University of Adelaide scientists comparing the foot bones of 500 ...
, ''Megadyptes waitaha'' †
* Fiordland penguin
The Fiordland penguin (''Eudyptes pachyrhynchus''), also known as the Fiordland crested penguin (in Māori, ''tawaki'' or pokotiwha), is a crested penguin species endemic to New Zealand. It currently breeds along the south-western coasts of Ne ...
, ''Eudyptes pachyrhynchus''
* Snares penguin
The Snares penguin (''Eudyptes robustus''), also known as the Snares crested penguin and the Snares Islands penguin, is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on the Snares Islands, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South ...
, ''Eudyptes robustus''
* Erect-crested penguin, ''Eudyptes sclateri''
* Northern rockhopper penguin
The northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin, or Moseley's penguin (''Eudyptes moseleyi'') is a penguin species native to the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockhopper penguin.
...
, ''Eudyptes moseleyi''
* Southern rockhopper penguin
The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian ...
, ''Eudyptes chrysocome''
* Royal penguin, ''Eudyptes schlegeli''
* Macaroni penguin
The macaroni penguin (''Eudyptes chrysolophus'') is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consid ...
, ''Eudyptes chrysolophus''
* Chatham penguin, ''Eudyptes warhami'' †
Suliformes (boobies, cormorants and allies)
* Flightless cormorant
The flightless cormorant (''Nannopterum harrisi''), also known as the Galapagos cormorant, is a cormorant endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only known cormorant th ...
, ''Nannopterum harrisi''
Pelecaniformes (pelicans, herons, ibises and allies)
* Ascension night heron, ''Nycticorax olsoni'' †
* Jamaican ibis, ''Xenicibis xymphithecus'' †
* Hawaiian flightless ibises, ''Apteribis glenos'' and ''A. brevis'' †
Strigiformes (owls)
* Cuban giant owl, ''Ornimegalonyx'' spp. † (possibly flightless)
* Cretan owl, ''Athene cretensis'' † (probably flightless)
* Andros Island barn owl, ''Tyto pollens'' † (possibly flightless)
Coraciiformes (kingfishers and allies)
* Saint Helena hoopoe
The Saint Helena hoopoe (''Upupa antaios''), also known as the Saint Helena giant hoopoe or giant hoopoe, is an extinct species of the hoopoe (family Upupidae), known exclusively from an incomplete subfossil skeleton. It was last seen around 1550 ...
, ''Upupa antaios'' †
Falconiformes (falcons and caracaras)
* Jamaican caracara, ''Caracara tellustris'' †
Psittaciformes (parrots)
* Kakapo, ''Strigops habroptilus''
Passeriformes (perching birds)
* Lyall's wren
Lyall's wren or the Stephens Island wren (''Traversia lyalli'') is a small, extinct, flightless passerine belonging to the family Acanthisittidae, the New Zealand wrens. It was once found throughout New Zealand, but when it came to the attention ...
, ''Xenicus lyalli'' †
* Long-billed wren, ''Dendroscansor decurvirostris'' †
* North Island stout-legged wren, ''Pachyplichas jagmi
The North Island stout-legged wren or Grant-Mackie's wren (''Pachyplichas jagmi'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wren, a family of small birds endemic to New Zealand.
History and etymology
The holotype is a right tarsometatarsus (AU 7 ...
'' †
* South Island stout-legged wren, ''Pachyplichas yaldwyni
The South Island stout-legged wren or Yaldwyn's wren (''Pachyplichas yaldwyni'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wren, a family of small birds endemic to New Zealand.
History and etymology
The holotype is a right tarsometatarsus (NMNZS 2 ...
'' †
* some ''Scytalopus
''Scytalopus'' is a genus of small passerine birds belonging to the tapaculo group. They are found in South and Central America from Tierra del Fuego to Costa Rica, but are absent from the Amazon Basin. They inhabit dense vegetation at or near gr ...
'' tapaculos (possibly flightless, never seen flying)
* Long-legged bunting, ''Emberiza alcoveri'' †
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite web , url=http://www.nhm.org/birds/guide/pg019a.html , title=The Bird Site: Flightless Birds , access-date=2007-08-27 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070713081647/http://www.nhm.org/birds/guide/pg019a.html, archive-date=2007-07-13]
[{{cite book, author = Roots C. , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7PQD-0dYJLgC&q=%22thirty-eight%22+%22twenty-six%22&pg=PR14 , title = Flightless Birds , location= Westport , date = 2006 , publisher= Greenwood Press , pages = XIV, isbn = 978-0-313-33545-7]
External links
TerraNature pages on New Zealand flightless birds
''Kiwi''
in ''Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''