Special Bird

(C) Lia Booysen

As everyone the world over celebrates the New Year (in the Julian calendar anyway), a few people want to see some things about Aepyornis. I think that David Attenborough and the BBC have taken care of how popular this bird is. If that was not enough to prove its popularity, look at the admiration still held by the people of Madagascar for the giant birds. World mythology sometimes attributes the myth of the Roc, a giant bird of prey, to the eggs of Aepyornis as well as the idea that it may have only been a baby for an even larger bird; ratites remain quite juvenile in appearance in many ways. These birds even provided inspiration for an H. G. Wells short story: Aepyornis Island. Please read the short story and enjoy the interpretative artwork from Lia Booysen related to the story. Their appearance in video games, while not entirely novel, also attests to their popularity. I certainly like the look of these birds in Zoo Tycoon 2 myself, though subsequent public modifications have made them appear less "majestic".