Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-02-14
Gigantic Birds Of the Past.

Within few months some excavations
in the plastic clay Of Bas- Meudon,
France, have resulted in the discovery Of
the remains Of goose-like bird, which,
when the bones we're arranged, lowered
aloft to height twice that of the tallest
man. Such enormous birds must have
presented a strange spectacle moving
about in focks, and from them probably
came the legend Of the roc of the Arabian
Nights. The bones of vulture-like bird
have been found that exceeded in size
the gastronis Of France. Its name is the
megalornis, and it probably preyed upon
the monster goose, which could not
escape by flying
The caves Of various countries were
evidently the resorts of the large birds
Of early times. and in many caves the
remains of remarkable birds have been
found. Thus, in France, large crane
has been found in various caves,
together with the remains Of the
reindeer, all the bones showing marks
Of the instruments Of primeval man.
The remains of the snowy owl and
the willow grouse are also common,
and in the Zebug cavern, in Malta,
gigantic extinct swan has been discov-
cred. South American caves have pro-
duced over thirty-four different kinds Of
birds; but it is to New Zealand and
Madagascar that we look for the most
remarkable gigantic forms. In the latter
island, which seems to have been the
home of many of these animals, Isadol
St. Hilaire found the remains Of an enor-
nous bird, the epyornis maximus. In
travelling through the country his atten-
ton was attracted to the symmetrical
dishes that were occasionally possessed
by some of the native tribes, and, think
ing they were gourds, he inquired where
obtained. To his amazement the owners
informed him that the dishes were part
Of the egg shells of great bird, and
upon further investigation he found the
remains Of the giant and its eggs. The
eggs, when perfect, were each equal in
size to 135 hens eggs, and would hold
two gallons Of water. This strange bird
and others that have since been discov-
cred seem to have been buried in the
sand beds of the southern part of the
island, and there preserved for les.
Larger even than the epyornis was
the gigantic moa, whose skeletons have
been obtained in great quantities in New
Zealand. In a single swamp severaltons
of bones were found, and of such pro-
digious bulk that at first it was supposed
they were the remains of an elephant; but
the bills and feet proved them to be
large wingless birds, which had probably
waded into the swamp and become mired,
and so hardened and preserved. Here,
too, the great birds seem to have resorted
to caves, and what is called the Moa
Bone Point Cave has produced great
numbers Of skeletons, found buried with
the remains Of the ancient Maori, and
recently some feathers of these great
birds have been found. Many native
traditions show that they lived with the
early human inhabitants, and were killed
off by them. The songs of the Maori
abound L illusions to the wonderful
flowing plumage of the moa, and moa
eggs have been found in ancient graves
Parts Of the eggs are in the British
museum, and are much larger than the
eggs Of the ostrich. Some of the finest
collections Of the birds themselves have
been brought to America, showing speci
mems Of the dinornis nine feet in height,
and with limbs more powerful than that
Of an OK.
1t seems almost incredible that bird
should exist large enough to prey upor
the great moa, yet such was undoubtedly
the case. A bird of prey, the harpagor-
mis-, lived, that could easily have mastered
the largest moa. In still later times the
great rail, notorious, gigantic geese,
strange crested parrots, the king Of
pigeons, the dodo, and the curious
solitaire have passed away, and become
part of the strange and wondrous his
tory Of the rocks.-New York Sun.