Elephant bird determined that "Vorombe titan" reached weights of and stood tall, making it the world's largest bird, slightly larger than the much older "Dromornis stirtoni". Elephant birds have been extinct since at least the 17th century. Étienne de Flacourt, a French governor of Madagascar in the 1640s and 1650s, mentions an ostrich-like bird said to inhabit unpopulated regions, though it is unclear whether he was repeating folk tales passed on from generations earlier. In 1659, Flacourt wrote of the "vouropatra – a large bird which haunts the Ampatres and lays eggs like the ostriches; so that the people of these places
Bird Island, Falkland Islands any offshore island around the Falklands, possibly due to the very large population of thin-billed prions, an important prey species. Deep Tussac cover over most of Bird Island makes it comparable to Beauchene Island for the density of burrowing petrels. Other species that should be investigated include sooty shearwater, grey-backed storm petrel, which is thought to be numerous, rock shag, imperial shag and dolphin gull. Endemic races present include the dark-faced ground-tyrant, Falkland thrush, long-tailed meadowlark and common diving petrel. Bird Island, Falkland Islands Bird Island () is one of the Falkland Islands. It lies due south of West Falkland,