moa

a kind of bird – flightless – large that looked like (resembled) and related to the Australian emu; size: about 12 feet, and weight: about 250 Kg.; fed on (ate) plant matter; lived in New Zealand

Special Features:

Moa are not to be seen now; there are extinct (= died out completely long ago). Animal experts have created this imaginary bird from the skeletons dug up from the ground, and they have estimated that the moa must have died out in about 1600 AD. According to the experts, there were ten species of moa some thousands of years ago, and were all without wings; moa did not even have the small wings that the flightless birds of the present day, such as emu, ostrich, kiwi, cassowary, have! {The ‘red jungle fowl’ is also called ‘moa or moa fowl’!  The male moa or red jungle fowl is majestic and colourful.  The cock is with red wattles on the head and neck, and golden feathers on the back of the neck; the tail feathers are long and arched (curved) and black with hues of blue and green; it is 2½ feet long.  The hen is small and with grey feathers, and is only 1-1½ feet long.  These birds are believed to be the ancestors of all the present domestic chicken!  Experts believe that the moa fowl was domesticated for their meat and eggs some 8000 years ago somewhere in Asia, and then introduced them to all parts of the world!!}

Figures of Speech:

as dead as the moa [said of something extinct – died out completely long ago]

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