Magnificent Mihirungs: The Colossal Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime (Life of the Past)

About this book

Over millions of years Australias unique biodiversity has produced a large cabinet of curiosities. Among the weirder members of this group were the Mihirungs members of the now extinct family Dromornithidae. Made up of several genera of flightless birdsamong them one of the very largest birds that ever livedthe dromornithids ranged from 60-kilogram beasts 1.5 meters tall to giants twice that size weighing nearly half a metric ton. They were by orders of magnitude the largest "geese" that ever lived. One species was comparable in size to the Ele-phantbird of Madagascar and the Giant Moa of New Zealand. This book is the first major study of this unique and highly diverse group. It aims to present as complete a synthesis as possible of current information about this fascinating family of birds.