The world has seen a lot of birds, many of which are now extinct. Here's what you need to know about extinct birds.
How does a bird become extinct?
First, let's clarify what it means to be extinct. An extinct bird is one that no longer exists, as in all of the birds in that particular species are dead. A bird becomes an extinct bird when its been over hunted or its natural habitat has been scrapped out. A bird can also become extinct if there's a sickness that ravishes that population, though this isn't as common as it is for a bird to become extinct because of human encroachment.
To prevent birds from becoming extinct birds, conservation groups have devised ways to protect certain birds. When a bird population starts to dwindle, the bird species may be moved to the endangered species list. This list is basically a warning sign that tells the world this bird or animal needs to be looked after or it will leave this world. Once a bird is placed on the endangered species list, it can be removed once its numbers increase. It's much better for birds to be removed from the list because they're thriving than because they've been demoted to the extinct list.
Looking at some extinct birds
Many birds are now extinct birds. We know about these birds through fossil records and historical accounts of the animals. One of the most well known extinct birds are the dodos. Dodos were larger birds that did not fly. Some of the dodos weighed about 50 pounds, which is huge for a bird and makes flight difficult. It's believed that there were two or three species of dodos and that they were all extinct by the early 1800s.
The moa are a group of extinct birds that lived in New Zealand and one species could be found on the south island until about 300 years ago. Moas were also flightless birds. There's controversy over whether this bird became extinct because of humans, climate or other birds. The moas lived in an area that was not heavily populated by humans, yet they had to share the island with another large bird called the maoris. It's believed that this bird squeezed the moas out of their habitat. It's also been speculated that the humans on the island killed both birds and ate their eggs. One other theory suggests that climate change in New Zealand had more of an effect in turning moas into extinct birds.
