Flightless bird Flightless bird Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species including the well known ratites (ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7 g). The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich (2.7 m, 156 kg). Ostriches are farmed for their decorative feathers, meat and their skins, which are used to make leather. Many domesticated birds, such as the domestic chicken and domestic duck, have lost
Emu War a six-month period in 1934. By December 1932, word of the Emu War had spread, reaching the United Kingdom. Some conservationists there protested the cull as "extermination of the rare emu". Dominic Serventy and Hubert Whittel, the eminent Australian ornithologists, described the 'war' as "an attempt at the mass destruction of the birds". Throughout 1930 and onward, exclusion barrier fencing became a popular means of keeping emu out of agricultural areas (in addition to other vermin such as dingoes and rabbits). Emu War The Emu War, also known as the Great Emu War, was a nuisance wildlife management military operation