More on the Haast Eagle

[sbisson]

Following up my recent entry on the extinct Haast Eagle, the largest predator in New Zealand, I noted this BBC News article, which discusses recent research into its DNA. It turns out that the Haast Eagle, one of the largest flying birds ever, was directly related to one of the world's smallest - a whole order of magnitude smaller...

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[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

Of course, what I love is that the Haast eagle was apparently, based on bone analysis, on its way to becoming flightless when it first contacted humans. One only wonders what would have happened if humans had stayed away from Aotearoa for another half-million years: those eagles were terrifying enough as is, but flightlessness would have removed one big restriction on their size. Creepy, ain't it?