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Kōrero: Moa

Moa’s stance

Image
Moa’s stance

There has been considerable research and debate about the moa’s stance. In the earliest years of scientific work on the bird, it was thought that it stood upright, almost like a camel, as illustrated by this drawing of the Dinornis that appeared in Ferdinand Hochstetter’s 1867 guide to the geography, geology and natural history of New Zealand.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: B-K 658-176

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Trevor H. Worthy, Moa – Appearance and breeding, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/artwork/11377/moas-stance (accessed 26 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Trevor H. Worthy, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.