Moa, << MOH uh, >> is any one of 10 or more species (kinds) of extinct birds that once lived on the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand. Moas ranged in size from those as big as a large turkey to some that measured 6 feet (2 meters) tall at the shoulder with heads reaching as high as 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters). Moas could not fly. They had small heads, long necks, stout legs, and no wings. They ate small herbs, along with fruit and leaves from shrubs and trees.
Moas lived in New Zealand when Māori, the Polynesians who settled the country, arrived there by about 800 years ago. Hunting and the destruction of the moa’s lowland forest habitat probably led to the bird’s extinction several hundred years later. Some small species of moas may have survived in the mountains on the South Island until the 1700’s.
