Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Contact | Home·News·Forum·Videos·Stories·Columns You are viewing: Home > News > Archaeology & History > News story Welcome Guest ( Login or Register ) All ▾ All Content News Forum Stories Columns Archaeology & History Remains of real-life 3-meter-tall 'thunderbird' found in Australia By T.K. RandallOctober 5, 2022 · 9 comments Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Palaeontologists have unearthed what is thought to be the leg bones of the largest species of bird to ever live. While today the ostrich is the largest bird to walk the Earth, in the distant past there existed avian behemoths closer in size to large theropod dinosaurs than to anything alive today.Now palaeontologists working in Australia have discovered what is thought to be the fossil remains of the largest bird that ever existed - a creature known as Stirton's thunderbird (or Dromornis stirtoni).This prehistoric beast, which roamed the Earth millions of years ago, was like an ostrich on steroids - standing at a height of up to 3 meters and weighing in at a staggering 500kg.Bizarrely, its closest living ancestors today are ducks and chickens. This latest fossil discovery, which was unearthed at the Alcoota Reserve north-east of Alice Springs, will hopefully help experts learn more about the true size of these prehistoric giants.It is even possible that more of the skeleton is buried nearby, just waiting to be found."We only got the lower legs because that's as far as we dug," paleontologist Adam Yates told Science Alert."There's every expectation that a large part of the rest of the skeleton - if not the entire skeleton - might be lying in the next dig as we dig further into the bank that the legs come from."A huge moment at #alcoota2022 with the very first articulated -Dromornis stirtoni- leg excavated from Classy Corner. Thankyou @Phoebyornis for scale! #fossilfriday @fupalaeosoc @FlindersPalaeo pic.twitter.com/mJaKvacOtg— Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (@MAG_NT) July 22, 2022 Source: Science Alert | Comments (9) Tags: Other news and articles Recent stories: Firm succeeds in hatching live chicks from artificial eggs for the first time5-20-2026 Why did giant theropod dinosaurs like T. rex have such tiny arms ?5-20-2026 Pentagon reveals fresh update on next batch of Trump's UFO files5-19-2026 Watch live: asteroid set to pass close to the Earth later tonight5-18-2026 Mystery of the Mary Celeste ghost ship may have finally been solved5-18-2026 Ethiopia fossil find shows human ancestors lived alongside one another5-17-2026 << Previous storyFewer people are skeptical of alien visitation now than in the 1990s Next story >>Camper films 'black panther feeding on a dead sheep' in England Our latest videos Visit us on YouTube NEW EPISODE 5-8-2025 3 disturbing visits from the real Men in Black 4-10-2025 5 incredibly weird things photographed by police 4-3-2025 Why is there a rocket cat in this 16th-Century drawing ? Recent comments on this story #1 Posted by Myles 4 years agolooks like ostrich's are taller but this bird was much heavier. #2 Posted by NCC1701 4 years agoProbably got stuck in the mud and therefore only the feet are preserved. #3 Posted by OverSword 4 years agoIt’s nine feet tall #4 Posted by pallidin 4 years agoWow. #5 Posted by pallidin 4 years agoI guess my mother was into paleontology. Not professionally. She was always amazed by new findings though. She fully understood that properly excavating an ancient skeleton is very slow and time-consuming. #6 Posted by jethrofloyd 4 years agoA big chicken! #7 Posted by SD455GTO 4 years agoWasn't the Giant Moa of New Zealand around that size? #8 Posted by Abramelin 4 years agoIt was even larger, but also lighter: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa #9 Posted by SD455GTO 4 years agoOkay cool a much heavier bird.Please Login or Register to post a comment. Our new book is out now! The Unexplained MysteriesBook of Weird News AVAILABLE NOW Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper. Click here to learn more We need your help! Support us on Patreon BONUS CONTENT For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series. Click here to learn more On the forum Science and Technology The Appalachian Mountains hold enough li... Why aren't brain transplants possible? "How does Atlas learn?"... Robotics Live chicks hatched from artificial eggs...United States and the Americas JD Vance just tried to reassure America.... Trump administration set to indict Raúl... Jan. 6 officers sue to block Trump's $1.... Senate advances measure to end Iran war ...UK and Europe European governments slam Israel's treat... Reform surge and major Labour losses: Th... One-year-old baby girl is reported to th... Immigrant MSP wants Scots to pay reparat...Russia and the War in Ukraine Current Ukrainian counteroffensives Russian t...