There has long been debate about Big Bird’s species, with some experts claiming he was a canary, but recent genetic analysis places him firmly in Cariamiformes.
holy shit, its a horse sized duck!
Can you handle it? Or do you want the alternative?
A quick dive down a wiki hole has left me with the impression that this guy’s contemporary duck-size proto-horses had large canine teeth.
I don’t like my odds either way.
Funnily enough, Brontornis does now most frequently get placed in Anserimorphae alongside waterfowl, whereas it was previously most often thought to be a terror bird (though I should say there’s still plenty of debate). It’s thought to be heavier than any terror bird at possibly as much as 400kg - where the average horse apparently weighs 500kg.
Being extinct, I assume no one ever told it how to get to Sesame Street.
Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or a horse’s weight in normal sized ducks?
AI knows how they interacted with humans…