Largest organisms were related to the ostrich. They exceeded in height and . The last of the elephant birds became extinct about 300 years ago. Of almost exactly the same upper proportions as the largest elephant birds was "Dromornis stirtoni" of Australia, part of a 26,000-year-old group called mihirungs of the family Dromornithidae. The largest carnivorous bird was "Brontornis", an extinct flightless bird from South America which reached a weight of and a height of about . The tallest carnivorous bird was "Kelenken", which could reach 3 to 3.2 meters in height and 220 to 250 kilograms. The tallest bird ever was
François Lays him. The first Restoration was quite mild and the only significant penalty Lays suffered was his dismissal from the former Chapelle Impériale with a resulting loss of income. When Napoleon returned to power for the so-called Hundred Days, Lays was inevitably reinstated in his post and he enthusiastically participated in the "Te Deum" of thanks. The second Restoration of the Bourbons was more serious for Lays. At the express wish of Louis XVIII he was again expelled – this time for good – from the new Chapelle Royale, but in return, in 1816, he was named professor of declamatory singing