What does "elephant bird" mean?

Any of the very large extinct flightless birds that make up the genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis within family Aepyornithidae, and lived in Madagascar until the 17th or 18th century; especially †Aepyornis maximus.

What is a synonym for "elephant bird"?

Common synonyms include: aepyornis.

Elephant bird

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of the very large extinct flightless birds that make up the genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis within family Aepyornithidae, and lived in Madagascar until the 17th or 18th century; especially †Aepyornis maximus.
"The fossil record is also poor for moa and the aepyornid elephant birds, in that both are mainly known from remains that date from historical times."
2
huge (to 9 ft.) extinct flightless bird of Madagascar wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

aepyornis

Example

More examples

"The fossil record is also poor for moa and the aepyornid elephant birds, in that both are mainly known from remains that date from historical times."

Etymology

Apparently from Marco Polo's description of the legendary roc as being capable of seizing a small elephant.

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