The moa were any of several species of extinct, ostrich-like, flightless birds native to New Zealand. They belonged to the order Dinornithiformes. The exact number of moa species is debated, with estimates ranging from 9 to 64. Moa varied in size, from that of a turkey to larger than an ostrich. The largest moa stood approximately 10 feet tall and weighed around 550 pounds. The Māori hunted moa for food. They used the bones to make spear points, hooks, ornaments, and water carriers from their eggs. The larger moa likely became extinct by the end of the 17th century, though some smaller species may have survived into the 19th century.

Moas, any of several extinct ostrichlike flightless birds, were native to New Zealand . They lived on the South Island in immense numbers on tussock grasslands. These birds varied in size, with some being as big as a turkey and others larger than an ostrich. Some stood as tall as 3 meters (10 feet) and weighed as much as 250 kg (about 550 pounds). The Māori people hunted moa for food. They used their bones to make spear points, hooks, and ornaments and their eggs as water carriers. The larger moa likely became extinct by the end of the 17th century, but some smaller species may have survived into the 19th century.

What did moas look like?

Moas were a diverse group of extinct, flightless birds native to New Zealand, belonging to the order Dinornithiformes. Estimates of the number of species range from 9 to 64. They varied significantly in size, from that of a turkey to larger than an ostrich. Some species stood as tall as 3 meters (10 feet) and weighed as much as 250 kg (about 550 pounds). Moa were primarily browsers and grazers, consuming seeds, fruits, leaves, and grasses. They laid one large egg in a ground hollow. According to Māori tradition, moa were swift runners that defended themselves by kicking when cornered.

Why did moas become extinct?

Moas, native to New Zealand, were hunted to extinction by the Māori between 1250 and 1350. These birds varied in size, with some as large as turkeys and others larger than ostriches, reaching up to 3 meters in height. Māori tradition describes moas as swift runners that defended themselves by kicking. They were hunted for food, and their bones and eggs were used to make tools and ornaments. While larger moa species likely disappeared by the 17th century, some smaller ones may have survived into the 19th century.

How do scientists learn about moas today?

Moa remains offer insights into these extinct birds. Scientists analyze skeletal remains to understand their physical characteristics and diet. Carbon-14 dating is used to determine the age of moa bones and other organic materials. This method relies on the decay of radiocarbon to estimate when an organism died, and it is effective on samples from 500 to 50,000 years old. Genetic studies also reveal evolutionary relationships between moas and other bird species like tinamous .

moa

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Illustration of a female moa (Dinornis robustus), a large, extinct, flightless bird with an ostrich-like appearance, long neck, and shaggy brownish feathers, shown standing upright with a size scale beside it.

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: Holocene Epoch; extinction; Miocene Epoch; greater moa; lesser moa

On the Web:: Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Moa (Nov. 01, 2026)

See all related content

moa

extinct bird

Also known as: Dinornithiformes

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 1, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a moa?
The moa were any of several species of extinct, ostrich-like, flightless birds native to New Zealand. They belonged to the order Dinornithiformes. The exact number of moa species is debated, with estimates ranging from 9 to 64. Moa varied in size, from that of a turkey to larger than an ostrich. The largest moa stood approximately 10 feet tall and weighed around 550 pounds.

The Māori hunted moa for food. They used the bones to make spear points, hooks, ornaments, and water carriers from their eggs. The larger moa likely became extinct by the end of the 17th century, though some smaller species may have survived into the 19th century.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where did moas live?
Moas, any of several extinct ostrichlike flightless birds, were native to New Zealand. They lived on the South Island in immense numbers on tussock grasslands. These birds varied in size, with some being as big as a turkey and others larger than an ostrich. Some stood as tall as 3 meters (10 feet) and weighed as much as 250 kg (about 550 pounds).

The Māori people hunted moa for food. They used their bones to make spear points, hooks, and ornaments and their eggs as water carriers. The larger moa likely became extinct by the end of the 17th century, but some smaller species may have survived into the 19th century.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What did moas look like?
Moas were a diverse group of extinct, flightless birds native to New Zealand, belonging to the order Dinornithiformes. Estimates of the number of species range from 9 to 64. They varied significantly in size, from that of a turkey to larger than an ostrich. Some species stood as tall as 3 meters (10 feet) and weighed as much as 250 kg (about 550 pounds).

Moa were primarily browsers and grazers, consuming seeds, fruits, leaves, and grasses. They laid one large egg in a ground hollow. According to Māori tradition, moa were swift runners that defended themselves by kicking when cornered.
2 Britannica Sources
1. moa
2. New Zealand: Plant and animal life
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why did moas become extinct?
Moas, native to New Zealand, were hunted to extinction by the Māori between 1250 and 1350. These birds varied in size, with some as large as turkeys and others larger than ostriches, reaching up to 3 meters in height.

Māori tradition describes moas as swift runners that defended themselves by kicking. They were hunted for food, and their bones and eggs were used to make tools and ornaments. While larger moa species likely disappeared by the 17th century, some smaller ones may have survived into the 19th century.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do scientists learn about moas today?
Moa remains offer insights into these extinct birds. Scientists analyze skeletal remains to understand their physical characteristics and diet.

Carbon-14 dating is used to determine the age of moa bones and other organic materials. This method relies on the decay of radiocarbon to estimate when an organism died, and it is effective on samples from 500 to 50,000 years old. Genetic studies also reveal evolutionary relationships between moas and other bird species like tinamous.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

moa, (order Dinornithiformes), any of several extinct ostrichlike flightless birds native to New Zealand and constituting the order Dinornithiformes. The number of different species is in dispute, estimates varying from 9 to 64. Among these species, individuals ranged in size from as big as a turkey to larger than an ostrich; some stood as tall as 3 metres (10 feet) and weighed as much as 250 kg (about 550 pounds). The name moa came from a Polynesian word for fowl.

According to Māori tradition, moa were swift runners that defended themselves by kicking when cornered. Early Polynesian peoples hunted moa for food and made spear points, hooks, and ornaments from their bones and water carriers from their eggs. Although the larger moa probably became extinct by the end of the 17th century, a few smaller species may have survived into the 19th.

Moa were chiefly browsers and grazers. Inference from skeletal and other remains reveals that they ate seeds, fruits, leaves, and grasses, which were ground with the help of more than 3 kg (6.5 pounds) of stones in the gizzard. Moa laid one large egg—up to 18 cm (7 inches) in diameter and 25 cm (10 inches) long—in a hollow in the ground.

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Britannica Quiz

Animal Group Names

Whether the moa, with the other ratites (birds with a flattened breastbone), shared a common ancestor or were polyphyletic (from several ancestral lines that come to resemble each other because they evolved in similar environments) is as debatable as their mode of arrival in New Zealand. Moa were thought to be related to kiwis, whose origins can be traced to Australia, but several genetic studies have noted the close similarities between moa and tinamous, a group of partridge-like birds that evolved in South America, suggesting that common ancestors of moa and tinamous may have evolved there.

Moa also possessed other ratite features, such as feather type, palatal structure, and the persistence of skull sutures into adulthood. These features, considered by many to be juvenile characteristics, prompted some scientists, including British anatomist and paleontologist Richard Owen, to suggest that moa and other ratites were “overgrown chicks,” examples of paedomorphism (the retention of immature characteristics into adulthood). However, many modern ornithologists suggest that these features could be advantageous adaptations that have nothing to do with paedomorphism. In addition, studies of unique growth rings in leg bones of moa have indicated that they grew at an exceptionally slow rate, taking as many as 10 years to reach full size. In contrast, modern birds are fully grown within 12 months.

The lesser moa formed the family Emeidae, with about two-thirds of the species in the order. The greater moa, in the family Dinornithidae, included the giants of the order. The fossil record for moa is poor; the earliest remains are regarded as originating in the Late Miocene Age (11.6 million to 5.3 million years ago).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.

moa

Thank you for signing up!