Elephant bird to carry off large primates; today, lemurs still retain a fear of aerial predators such as these. Another might be the perception of ratites retaining neotenic features and thus being mistaken for enormous chicks of a presumably more massive bird. The ancient Malagasy name for the bird is vorompatra, meaning "bird of the Ampatres". The Ampatres are today known as the Androy region of southern Madagascar. Like the ostrich, rhea, cassowary, emu, kiwi and extinct moa, "Mullerornis" and "Aepyornis" were ratites; they could not fly, and their breast bones had no keel. Because Madagascar and Africa separated before the ratite
Bird Island (Massachusetts) Bird Island (Massachusetts) Bird Island is a tiny island in Buzzards Bay at the mouth of Sippican Harbor, less than a mile off the mainland coast of the town of Marion, Massachusetts, United States. The only landmarks on Bird Island are a flagpole and a historic lighthouse. Bird Island Light was formerly manned but now runs automatically. The Great New England Hurricane caused widespread destruction all along the south coast of New England. High tide in the evening of September 21, 1938, was above normal. The great storm swept away every building on Bird Island except the lighthouse tower. Bird