Bush Moa

Anomalopteryx didiformis is an extinct flightless bird colloquially known as the lesser moa, little bush moa, or bush moa. It was the smallest known species of moa, only slightly taller than a turkey. A slender bird, it weighed around 30 kilograms. It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. It habitated the dense lowland conifer, broad-leafed Southern beech forests and scrubland. It possessed a sturdy, sharp-edged beak, suggesting that its diet was made up of twigs and other tough plant material. Native predators included the Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier. The species went extinct alongside other native New Zealand wildlife around 500-600 years ago, following the arrival and proliferation of the Maori people in New Zealand, as well as the introduction of Polynesian dogs. As with all moa, they have with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate.

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