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
Mutton Bird Island Mutton Bird Island Mutton Bird Island is an irregularly shaped unpopulated island located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Situated some south of where the mouth of Port Davey meets the Southern Ocean, the is the largest of the eight islands that comprise the Mutton Bird Islands Group. The Mutton Bird Island is part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site. The highest point of Mutton Bird Island is above sea level. The island is part of the Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance