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Story: Moa

Moa and emu eggs

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Moa and emu eggs

This egg of the South Island giant moa measures 24 by 17.8 centimetres, and it makes the emu egg beside it look puny. The moa egg was found in a Māori burial site at Kaikōura. The feathers are from an upland moa, and may not be typical of all species. Moa feathers, like the kiwi’s, lacked the barbules that on other birds join the vanes together. Moa feathers would have felt more like hair.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: MA_B.021408

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Trevor H. Worthy, Moa – Appearance and breeding, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/11383/moa-and-emu-eggs (accessed 8 June 2026).

Story by Trevor H. Worthy, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

man
27 October 2011
great information and excellent page... congratulations...