moa
nounUK /ˈməʊə/ · NZ /ˈmɒʌ/
Etymology Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”).
1
Any of several species of large, extinct, flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae that were native to New Zealand; until its extinction, one species was the largest bird in the world.
- The moas (order Dinornithiformes) of New Zealand are likewise extinct but almost certainly some still survived when Tasman first sighted the islands in 1642.2000, Errol Fuller, Extinct Birds, Oxford, page 29:
- For instance, the little bush moa fed nearly exclusively on forest vegetation, whereas the heavy-footed moa was a grazer in open vegetation habitats.2018 April 4, Hanneke Meijer, The Guardian, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2018:
- Derived terms
- broad-billed moa, bush moa, coastal moa, crested moa, eastern moa, giant moa, heavy-footed moa, lesser moa, little bush moa, Mantell's moa, Mappin's moa, moa bed, moalike, moan, moa-nalo, moa stone, North Island giant moa, slender moa, South Island giant moa, stout-legged moa, upland moa