SINCE 1828
moa
noun
\ ˈmō-ə
\
\
Definition of moa
: any of various usually very large extinct flightless birds of New Zealand of a ratite order (Dinornithiformes) including one (Dinornis giganteus of the family Dinornithidae) nearly 12 feet (3.7 meters) in height
Examples of moa in a Sentence
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Extinct flightless birds—the moa of New Zealand and the dodo—were favorites, along with the Yangtze River dolphin. — Amy Dockser Marcus, WSJ, "Meet the Scientists Bringing Extinct Species Back From the Dead," 9 Oct. 2018 Giant Moa: Avian Skyscraper For millions of years, the giant moa consisted of nine species of ostrichlike flightless birds native to New Zealand. — National Geographic, "The Biggest Bird That Ever Lived and 5 More Bird Superstars," 15 May 2018 Educated interpretation Although the coprolites yielded lots of information on the ecosystems surrounding the moa, questions remain. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "DNA from the poop of extinct four-meter-tall birds reveals lost ecosystem," 15 Feb. 2018 Some important answers lie in something the moa left behind: ancient bird poop. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "DNA from the poop of extinct four-meter-tall birds reveals lost ecosystem," 15 Feb. 2018 The smallest, the little bush moa, stood a little over four feet tall. — Jacob Mikanowski, The Atlantic, "Reconstructing Lost Worlds With Poop," 19 Dec. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'moa.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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