Return Of The Terror Birds

Australians hit by Cyclone Yasi warned to stay away from deadly giant birds


"Australians trying to rebuild in the wake of Cyclone Yasi have been warned to stay away from cassowaries – huge flightless birds with claws that can disembowel a human – on the hunt for food after their habitat was destroyed by the storm.
Residents of communities around Mission Beach, on the north Queensland coast, which was almost flattened by the category five cyclone earlier this month, have been advised to beware of the 6ft tall birds, which are known to attack if they feel threatened.

Famed for their long talons – their dagger-like middle claws measure 12cm long – and powerful legs, the birds, which are unique to the rainforests of northern Australia, are said to be able to disembowel humans, dogs and horses with just one kick."



Terror Birds: Predators With a Kung Fu Kick?

"Phorusrhacids would give even Alfred Hitchcock the shivers: Also known as terror birds, some were nearly 10 feet (3 meters) tall, weighed over half a ton (500 kilograms), and could swallow a dog in a single gulp. A new study suggests the extinct predators may have been as fleet-footed as modern cheetahs and that some species may have kicked the bones of their prey kung-fu-style to obtain marrow.
The study is one of the first to shed light on the hunting behavior of these huge, flightless predators, which dominated South America from about 65 million to 2.5 million years ago."