New fossils show what Australia’s giant prehistoric ‘thunder birds’ looked like – and offer clues about how they died out

The extinct Australian giant flightless bird, _Genyornis newtoni_. Used with permission; all other rights reserved. Jacob C. Blokland, Author provided

Until around 45,000 years ago, Australia was home to a giant flightless bird called Genyornis newtoni, which was two metres tall and weighed up to 230 kilograms.

Palaeontologists first discovered these so-called “thunder birds” in the late 1800s. Yet exactly what Genyornis looked like has remained a mystery, because until now no well-preserved fossil of a Genyornis head has been found.