The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-02
GIANT BIRDS OF OLD.
Huge Ancestors of the Ostrich-A Goose
Twelve Feet High.


of the oldest bird known. 1t had regular liz
ard tail This specimen was found in the BaVa-
rian quarries at Solenhofen, where so much val
liable photographic slate is found. Some labor
ers came upon an impression in the slate which
so closely resembled a feather that 1t was care
fully worked out and presented by the owner OF
the quarry to local scientist, who III turn pre-
scented it to Prof. Herman Won Meyer, and thus
the first trace Of the earliest bird was discovered,
the naturalist giving it the name OF the ar
chaopteryX. This first find was perfect feather
that perhaps had been dropped by some bird ages
ago and gradually covered up and preserved;
Not long after, in the same locality lot OF
feathers were exposed, and in working them out
nearly the entire body of the wonderful bird was
eXhumed.
''The arch@opteryx, judging from this speci-
men, was about the size of a crow, and the hrst
thing that attracted the finders attention was
the remarkable tail. If you can imagine the
popes nose of the bird a turkey stretched out
so that it is longer than the bird ITSELF and maze
up of twenty movable bones or vertebrse, each
supporting pair of feathers. one upon each
side, fair conception of this strange tail may
be had A further examination showed that the
fore limb had two toes or fingers free OF the
| limb, each armed with powerful claw while
third was greatly elongated and supported the
feathered wing
''rhe head of the archeopteryx not found.
but from later discoveries of other early birds 1t
is presumed that its reptile-like appearance was
increased by having vertabe teeth in its jaws.
In flying the curious tail must have been an inn
pediment rather than a help. In the days OF the
archieopteryX the conditions of life We're some
what different from those of the pres
ent time. In America the Rocky mount
ain chain had not appeared and from
Kansas vast inland sea stretched
away over the praires, all that part of the coun-
try being beneath body of water that undoubt-
edly was connected with the oceans on both
sides of the present continent. Whether the
English Channel then existed and England had
| its present shape are not kncwn but we are posi-
tive that at that time the British isles were IN
much warmer climate than now, as fossil coral
beds are found there and even further north,
which were composed of living corals in the days
of the aPchRopteryx
In our country the rocks of later time have
preserved birds for us that are perhaps equally
as wonderful as the long-tailed specimen from
Solenhofen. For long time their footprints
had been known, and finally some specimens
were discovered in Kansas that attracted univer-
sal attention, from the fact that they possessed
veritable teeth These curious creatures were
taken from the chalk beds, and named by Pro
fessor Marsh, the discoverer, odontornithes
Twenty specimens were found, showing that
the possession of teeth was probably
general among birds at that time The
largest bird taken from the chalk named
the hesperOrious 1t was a great water bird, at
least six feet in length. Its jaws were lined
with sharp teeth, set in grooves. The wings
were like those of the ostrich, incapable of lift
ing it from the ground, while its feet We're
webbed like those of duck. In fact if we can
imagine such a strange conglomeration, the
hesperorius was a carnivorous or fesh-eating,
swimming ostrich like bird
1.-THE flying birds of that age, not larger than
our common pigeons also had teeth Such was
the jettryornes. Its teeth were in sockets, just
like those eff the alligator of to-day, and it had
backbone like that of a fish Another was a
pigeon with teeth, and others somewhat resem-
bled swans and rails; ALL however, being pro
vided with sharp teeth of various kinds. showing
that they were hunters and far different in their
habits from their descendants of to-day.
Equally strange are some of the birds that
have become extinct in later times and have
been preserved in the earth. Within a few
months some excavations in the plastic clay of
Bas Meudon, France, have resulted in the dis
covery of the remains of goose-llke bird,
which, when the bones were arranged, lowered
aloft to a height twice that of the tallest man.
Such enormous birds must have presented a
| strange spectacle moving about in hocks, and
| from them probably came the legend of the roc
of the Arabian Nights. The bones of vuture-
like bird have been found that exceeded in size
the gastorns of France. Its name is the mega
lornis, 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 show
ing marks of the instruments of prmeval man.
The remains of the snowy owl and the willow
grouse are also common, and in the Zebug cav
ern, in Malta, a gigantic extinct swan has been
discovered. 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 Isador st.
Hilaire found the remains of an enormous bird,
the epyornis maXimus. In travelling through
the country his attention attracted to the
symmetrical dishes that We're occasionally
| geAA InNrC na%frr
thinking they were gourds, he inquired
where they were obtained To his
amazement the owners informed him that the
dishes part of the egg shells of great bird,
and upon further investigation he found the re
mains of the giant and its eggs. The eggs. when
perfect, each equal in size to 1875 hens eggs,
and would hold two gallons Of water. This
strange bird and others that have since been dis
covered seem to have been buried III the sand
beds of the southern part Of the island, and there
preserved for ages.
Larger even than the @pyorns was the gi-
gantic moa, whose skeletons have been obtained
in great quantities in New Zealand In a single
swamp several tons of bones were found, and of
such prodgous bulk that at first it was sup
posed they were the remains of an elephant; but
the bills and feet proved them to be large wing
less 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 pro
duced grea! numbers Of skeletons,
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 in
illusions TO the wonderful flowing plumage of
the moa, and moa eggs have been found in an
cient graves. Parts of the eggs are in the
British Museum, and are much larger than the
eggs of the ostrich. Some of the finest collec-
Of tba nd 1UnS haa1,
to America, showing specimens of the dinornis
nine feet in height, and with limbs more power
full than those of an OK.
1t seems almost incredible that bird should
exist large enough to prey upon the great moa,
yet such was undoubtedly the case. A bird of
prey, the harpagornis lived that could easily
have mastered the largest moa. In still later
times the great rail- notorius, gigantic geese,
L Il