Flightless bird more species of flightless birds (including the kiwi, several species of penguins, the takahe, the weka, the moa, and several other extinct species) than any other such location. One reason is that until the arrival of humans roughly a thousand years ago, there were no large land predators in New Zealand; the main predators of flightless birds were larger birds. Ratites belong to the superorder Palaeognathae birds, which include the volant tinamou, and are believed to have evolved flightlessness independently multiple times within their own group. Some birds evolved flightlessness in response to the absence of predators, for example on
Birds of Australia tail for rapid changes of direction. In consequence, the unrelated birds that fill that role in the Americas and in Australia look and act as though they are close relatives. Australian birds which show convergent evolution with Northern Hemisphere species: Australian birds can be classified into six categories: For comprehensive regional lists, see: For Australia's endemic species, see: Other regional, state and island bird lists: National organizations Australian regional and state organisations Important regional references include: Full-coverage field guides in print are as follows, in rough order of authority: Birds of Australia Australia and its offshore islands and territories have