Big Bird has nothing on these guys!
The
ostrich of Africa is the largest bird still living.
They can reach a height of about 8 ft and weigh up to 300 lb. They
have long necks and small heads, with large eyes and short, broad
beaks. They have long, powerful legs that are used for defense. The
feet have only two toes. Male ostriches are black, with white wings
and tail. Females are dull grayish brown. Ostriches can run about 40 mph.
Emu is the common name of the ostrich-like bird of Australia, Excluding the ostrich, it is the largest of all birds, attaining a height of 6 ft and a weight of 130 lb. Emu wings are very small and are hidden beneath the coarse, almost hair-like feathers of the body. The plumage is dull brown, darker on the head, neck, and middle of the back, and lighter on the undersides. The naked parts of the head and neck are grayish-blue; the bill and feet are brown. It places its eggs, which are dark green and about 4 in long, in a scooped-out hole in the ground. The male does all the incubation and care of the chicks.
Rhea
is the common name of South American ostrich-like birds. They
are smaller than African ostriches, however, and have three toes
instead of two. The head and neck are completely feathered. The tail
is undeveloped, but long feathers droop over and cover the posterior
region of the body. The coloration varies from pale gray to brown.
Rheas are also fast runners
Cassowary
is the common name for ostrich-like birds from northern Australia
and New Guinea. They stand 4 to 6 ft high and can run as fast as
30 mph. Their inner toes bear long, straight, knifelike nails, which
are deadly defense weapons. The loose, hair-like body plumage is
brownish-black; the head and neck are bare and brightly colored in
various combinations of red, yellow, and blue. The top of the head
bears a large, bony crest. Two species have long, leathery wattles
hanging from the front of the neck. As in all of these birds, the
males incubate the eggs, which in cassowaries are dark green and
number three to six per clutch.
Moa
is the common name for ostrich-like birds that once lived in New Zealand.
Moas varied greatly in size, from about 39 in to 13 ft in height.
Unlike ostriches, moas did not have wings. Their legs were massive
and relatively short. Moas were widespread in New Zealand when it was
colonized by the Maori people, but were extinct by the time Captain
Cook arrived there in 1769. This picture is from an excavation in New
Zealand. The hip bone of this enormous bird was head high.