#mihirung

[saint-nevermore]

a Dromornis drake standing guard while his hen rests and eats peacefully :)

day 12 of drawdinosdaily

[harpagornis]

"Mihirung" (lit. "bird" in Tjapwuring) is often used as the vernacular for dromornithids, extinct Australian flightless birds. But the mythological bird this term originates from in Tjapwuring folklore, the Mihirung Paringmal (lit. "giant bird") is nothing to balk at; they can create VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. A fire bird considerably older than the western phoenix!

[proflambeovt]

Paleovember 2023, Dromornis!

Staying in Australia for a bit, turns out emus and cassowaries weren't always the only large birds to worry about down under! Dating back to the Pliocene, the genus Dromornis were titans of their time and place, with one species in particular, D. stirtoni, estimated to grow up to ten feet tall, making it the largest bird to ever exist! It's powerful beak and jaws allowed it to cut and crush vegetation (though it likely also scavenged on occasion).

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Trick or treat! 🎃

Dromornis!

[penig]

Rare skull of an extinct, massive ‘thunder bird’ discovered in Australia

The recent discovery of a complete Genyornis newtoni skull has given scientists their first face-to-face encounter with the extinct, massive

The article keeps comparing this critter to a goose (a 500-pound goose!) but I was struck by how similar the description was to the descriptions of semiaquatic dinosaurs in the books available to me in my childhood in the early 60s.

If an ecological niche is available, it will be filled; and by similar creatures, too.

[otussketching]

Some watercolour studies of dromornithids, also known as (the much cooler name) Mihirungs. The animals depicted are Dromornis and Genyornis, amd they lived in Australia. Despite their somewhat threatening appearance, they were peaceful browsing herbivores related to ducks and geese, and may have travelled the outback in a rather ponderous manner.

Dromornis (the brown one with a big beak) lived in Australia during the Miocene and the Pliocene, and is probably the most popular mihirung. It was initially thought to be a carnivore, but it's beak was better suited for shearing branches and processing leaves, nuts and fruit. It was still, however, a formidable animal. At 3 meters tall and 700 kilograms, it wad the biggest animal in its environment, and the second largest bird ever.

Genyornis (the tan one with a smaller beak), lived during the late pleistocene, and may have survived long enough to counter humans (and then stop encountering them). It is not as well known as Dromornis, which is a bit of a downer, in my opinion. Of course, it wasn't as big, but at over 2 meters tall and 275 kilograms, it was still a magnificent bird. One can only imagine how ancient people reacted when they first saw a flock (or gaggle?) Of Genyornis calmly stroll through a forest clearing.

[drawing-with-beasts]

NZ's 'Mr Moa' re-writes history of ancient Australian birds

A Kiwi scientist has helped re-write the history of Australia's ancient giant birds.

The New Zealand scientist dubbed "Mr Moa" has helped re-write the family tree of Australia's own ancient flightless birds, the mihirungs (Dromornithidae).