Elephant bird Elephant bird Elephant birds are members of the extinct ratite family Aepyornithidae, made up of large to enormous flightless birds that once lived on the island of Madagascar. They became extinct, perhaps around 1000–1200 CE, for reasons that are unclear, although human activity is the suspected cause. Elephant birds comprised the genera "Mullerornis", "Vorombe" and "Aepyornis". While they were in close geographical proximity to the ostrich, their closest living relatives are kiwi, suggesting that ratites did not diversify by vicariance during the breakup of Gondwana but instead evolved from ancestors that dispersed more recently by flying. In September 2018, scientists
Mao (bird) months. During this time it follows the female making loud begging calls. It is a noisy bird with beautiful loud whistling and mewing calls given most often prior to dawn and around dusk. A breeding pair also do complex duets. It is found on the islands of Upolu and Savai'i and formerly occurred also on Tutuila but is now locally extinct in the later. It normally inhabits mountain forest but has also been recorded in scrub and coastal coconut trees. The population, which numbers between 250-999 birds, is thought to be declining. It is threatened by destruction of the forest