Average Big Birds Quiz | 10 Questions | Animals

Answer: Africa

Struthio camelus is the common ostrich. A flightless bird, it is found in many parts of Africa. Contrary to popular belief, an ostrich does not "hide" by burying its head in the ground. Instead, it will sometimes try to hide from a threat by lying as flat on the ground as possible to minimize its presence.

Other methods the ostrich uses to avoid danger are running away (with a top speed of 43 mph) or a powerful kick with its legs. An adult ostrich will usually weigh somewhere between 140 and 320 pounds and stand between six feet and nine feet tall.

The male of the species is usually slightly larger than the female.

Answer: Australia

Demon ducks and thunder birds are two of the names given to the extinct birds in the family Dromornithidae. These birds lived in Australia and went extinct sometime in the last 50,000 years. The several species of this family, as adults, probably stood somewhere between five and ten feet tall and may have weighed between 200 and 500 pounds.

It has traditionally been thought that most of the species were herbivores although some later research questions that.

Answer: Madagascar

The elephant birds were a family (Aepyornithidae) of birds that lived on the island of Madagascar and became extinct during the early second millennium CE. Many scientists believe that overhunting by humans may have been responsible for their extinction.

Some scholars suggest that references to the roc in Arab folklore may be based on elephant birds. Elephant birds may have stood about ten feet tall and weighed between 800 and 1,100 pounds as adults. Remains suggest that the eggs of elephant birds may have weighed as much as 22 pounds each.

Answer: Australia

Found in large parts of Australia, the adult emu may stand up to six feet in height and weighs between 40 and 130 pounds. Though emus do not fly, they seem to flap their vestigial wings when running (perhaps for balance). Their diet is largely made up of plants and arthropods.

When emus mate, the female emu will lay between five and fifteen eggs. Along with the kangaroo, the emu is the other animal featured on the Australian coat of arms.

Answer: Antarctica

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the largest of all the penguin species. With their natural habitat in Antarctica and the surrounding waters, emperor penguins actually breed during the Antarctic winter. The adult usually stands slightly over three feet tall and weighs between 50 and 100 pounds. Female penguins usually only lay one egg at a time and both parents are usually actively involved in hatching the egg and raising the young bird. Though flightless, emperor penguins are strong swimmers and can dive to a depth of one third of a mile.

Answer: New Zealand

Once found in New Zealand, it is believed that hunting by early human settlers caused the extinction of the giant moa by 1500. It is very likely that the birds (genus Dinornis) were the largest birds ever to have lived. It seems to have stood, as an adult, about 12 feet tall and weighed 500-600 pounds. Studies suggest that females may have been somewhat larger than males.

A moa's primary means of attack would probably have been a kick form one of its large, powerful legs.

Answer: South America

Rhea americana, or the greater rhea, is found in large parts of eastern South America. Adults stand about five feet tall on average and weigh about 45-60 pounds. The greater rhea generally only gathers in significant groups during mating season. During mating season, females may often mate with multiple males. Natural predators to the bird include the jaguar and the cougar. Like the emu and the ostrich, the rhea is sometimes farmed by humans.

Answer: Australia and Papua New Guinea

The southern cassowary is also known as the Australian Cassowary. In addition to northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea, it is also found in parts of Indonesia. As an adult the bird usually stands about five to six feet tall with a weight of about 64-129 pounds. Females tend to be somewhat larger than males. Though the birds have a reputation for aggression towards humans, there was only one recorded death in the 20th century.

Answer: New Caledonia

This flightless bird, as an adult, would have stood about five and a half feet tall and weighed about 66 pounds. Though the bird went extinct on the island of New Caledonia several thousand years ago, scientists have been able to study the large number of fossils and bones left. Based on the large number of juvenile remains found, it is thought that Sylviornis laid multiple eggs at once.

The bird was distantly related to chickens and turkeys, although much larger.

Answer: South America

Terror birds were members of the family Phorusrhacidae. Found in different parts of South America, they are believed by most to have gone extinct within the last two million years. There were several species of terror birds which ranged in size from three feet to ten feet tall for adults.

The birds are thought to have used their large beak to assist in capturing prey. Ironically, it is thought that their prey would often be relatively small compared to its size since the large size of the beak would have made it hard to concentrate pressure.