Weak-Winged Giants and Dwarves

A varied group of birds, that shares some ancestral characteristics with its reptilian ancestors. In the tropical grasslands of Africa, South, Central America and Australia, as well as in the forests of New Guinea and New Zealand, lives a group of birds that all have one thing in common: weakened wings, that do not allow them to fly (except in the case of the tinamous).Their size ranges from 15 cm to 2.7 m. This group included some of the largest birds on the planet, the moas, which became extinct with the arrival of humans in New Zealand, 1300 years ago. It also included the enormous elephant birds of Madagascar, which became extinct in around 1650.Some of these birds can run very fast, using their long, strong legs. For example, the ostrich can reach a speed of 70 km/h for up to 30 minutes at a time. The group includes about 60 species in 5 orders: the ostriches (Africa), the rheas (Central and South America), the cassowaries and emu (Australia-New Guinea), the kiwis (New Zealand) and the tinamous (Mexico, Central and South America). Most species are classified as endangered.