Giant Moa

When people first arrived in New Zealand, they encountered giant wingless birds known as Moas (the family Dinornithidae). These birds were distinct from their relatives (tinamous, cassowaries, emu, ostriches. though their closest relatives are flighted south american tinamous) which possessed wings, whereas Moas had lost the bones completely. The largest Moa species could reach up to 4m in size, larger than any other bird on the islands.

Big bird cryptid