Editing Ratite (section)

== Species ==
{{See also|List of ratites}}

=== Living forms ===
The African [[ostrich]] is the largest living ratite. A large member of this species can be nearly {{convert|2.8|m|ftin}} tall, weigh as much as {{convert|156|kg|lb}},<ref name = Grzimelek /> and can outrun a horse.

Of the living species, the Australian [[emu]] is next in height, reaching up to {{convert|1.9|m|ftin}} tall and about {{convert|50|kg|lb}}.<ref name = Grzimelek /> Like the ostrich, it is a fast-running, powerful bird of the open plains and [[woodland]]s.

Also native to Australia and the islands to the north are the three species of [[cassowary]]. Shorter than an emu, but heavier and solidly built, cassowaries prefer thickly vegetated [[tropical]] forest. They can be dangerous when surprised or cornered because of their razor-sharp [[Talon (anatomy)|talons]]. In [[New Guinea]], cassowary eggs are brought back to villages and the chicks raised for eating as a much-prized delicacy, despite (or perhaps because of) the risk they pose to life and limb. They reach up to {{convert|1.8|m|ftin}} tall and weigh as much as {{convert|85|kg|lb}}<ref name = Grzimelek />

[[South America]] has two species of [[Rhea (bird)|rhea]], large fast-running birds of the [[Pampas]]. The larger [[American rhea]] grows to about {{convert|1.4|m|ftin}} tall and usually weighs {{convert|15|to(-)|40|kg|lb}}.<ref name = Grzimelek />

The smallest ratites are the five species of [[Kiwi (bird)|kiwi]] from New Zealand. Kiwi are [[chicken]]-sized, shy, and [[nocturnal]]. They nest in deep [[burrow]]s and use a highly developed sense of smell to find small insects and grubs in the soil. Kiwi are notable for laying eggs that are very large in relation to their body size. A kiwi egg may equal 15 to 20 percent of the body mass of a female kiwi. The smallest species of kiwi is the [[little spotted kiwi]], at {{convert|0.9|to(-)|1.9|kg|lb}} and {{convert|35|to(-)|45|cm|in}}.<ref name = Grzimelek />

=== Holocene extinct forms ===
At least nine species of [[moa]] lived in New Zealand before the arrival of humans, ranging from turkey-sized to the [[giant moa]] ''[[Dinornis robustus]]'' with a height of {{convert|3.7|m|ftin}} and weighing about {{convert|230|kg|lb}}.<ref name = Grzimelek /> They became extinct by A.D. 1400 due to hunting by [[Māori people|Māori]] settlers, who arrived around A.D. 1280.

''[[Aepyornis maximus]]'', the "elephant bird" of [[Madagascar]], was the heaviest bird ever known. Although shorter than the tallest moa, a large ''A. maximus'' could weigh over {{convert|400|kg|lb}} and stand up to {{convert|3|m|ftin}} tall.<ref name = Grzimelek /> Accompanying it were three other species of ''[[Aepyornis]]'' as well as three species of the smaller genus ''[[Mullerornis]]''. All these species went into decline following the arrival of humans on Madagascar around 2,000 years ago, and were gone by the 17th or 18th century if not earlier.