elephant bird
noun
: any of a group (genus Aepyornis or order Aepyornithiformes) of gigantic flightless ratite birds known only from remains found in Madagascar
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Thousands of years ago, humans lived alongside behemoths such as giant lemurs, dwarf hippos, giant tortoises and the world’s largest bird, the elephant bird, on the island of Madagascar. 
Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Oct. 2020 The 68-million-year-old egg, called Antarcticoolithus bradyi, is the first fossil egg ever found in Antarctica, only outsized by the eggs of Madagascar’s extinct elephant bird. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 17 June 2020 The egg is also the second-largest discovered from any creature, coming in second to an egg from the extinct Madagascan elephant bird. Joshua Bote, USA TODAY, 19 June 2020 Much of the island’s megafauna (including nearly 10-foot-tall elephant birds and lemurs the size of gorillas) has been driven to extinction. New York Times, 5 May 2020 Only two elephant birds from Madagascar, Vorombe titan and Aepyornis maximus, beat this ancient giant in terms of size. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Compared to extinct elephant birds and moas, Pachystruthio had longer, more slender leg bones, which tells us how the bird moved. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Fossils of giant extinct birds are quite rare worldwide, adds James Hansford, a paleontologist with the Institute of Zoology in London who is an expert on the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Earlier this year, the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, N.Y. revealed that that a rare elephant bird egg in its collection had been mislabeled for decades. James Rogers, Fox News, 13 Sep. 2018 See More
Rasha Aridi, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Oct. 2020 The 68-million-year-old egg, called Antarcticoolithus bradyi, is the first fossil egg ever found in Antarctica, only outsized by the eggs of Madagascar’s extinct elephant bird. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 17 June 2020 The egg is also the second-largest discovered from any creature, coming in second to an egg from the extinct Madagascan elephant bird. Joshua Bote, USA TODAY, 19 June 2020 Much of the island’s megafauna (including nearly 10-foot-tall elephant birds and lemurs the size of gorillas) has been driven to extinction. New York Times, 5 May 2020 Only two elephant birds from Madagascar, Vorombe titan and Aepyornis maximus, beat this ancient giant in terms of size. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Compared to extinct elephant birds and moas, Pachystruthio had longer, more slender leg bones, which tells us how the bird moved. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Fossils of giant extinct birds are quite rare worldwide, adds James Hansford, a paleontologist with the Institute of Zoology in London who is an expert on the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar. Jenny Howard, National Geographic, 26 June 2019 Earlier this year, the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, N.Y. revealed that that a rare elephant bird egg in its collection had been mislabeled for decades. James Rogers, Fox News, 13 Sep. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1889, in the meaning defined above