Page 144 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

Giant birds

Gallinuloides Dromornis

Dinosaurs take flight was the largest
At
10 ft (3 m)
tall, Dromornis

bird that ever
existed.
Terror birds
had huge, hooked
beaks for killing and
tearing the flesh of
their victims.
Dromornis

Phorusrhacos

Phorusrhacos
had a very flexible
neck that allowed
it to strike quickly
at prey.

This fossil shows that
birds very similar to modern
chickens were living in North
The massive legs America 48 million years ago.
of Dromornis
supported its colossal
weight—it weighed
10 times as much
as a human.

Sharp claws were
used to pin struggling
prey to the ground as
the bird prepared to
kill and eat it. Gallinuloides fossil

Birds were the only dinosaurs to survive most of the familiar bird groups had appeared,
the mass extinction that wiped out their but there were also a few very unfamiliar birds,
giant relatives 66 million years ago. They including giant, flightless predators known as
evolved to form many new types that are still “terror birds.” They included Phorusrhacos
with us today, including owls, ducks, and and Titanis. Both were more than 8 ft (2 m)
142 penguins. By about 40 million years ago, tall and had hooked beaks and huge claws for

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