Moa : the dramatic story of the discovery of a giant bird / Richard Wolfe.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-238) and index.

Introduction : on the wings of a moa -- Ch. 1. An unpromising fragment -- Ch. 2. The flax factor -- Ch. 3. Trade and exchange -- Ch. 4. With God on their side -- Ch. 5. Dissension in the ranks -- Ch. 6. Give the man a bone -- Ch. 7. The lone fragment -- Ch. 8. Bound for the Antipodes -- Ch. 9. Fossils, frogs and grains of sand -- Ch. 10. In search of natural knowledge -- Ch. 11. Extinguished features -- Ch. 12. Creating monsters -- Ch. 13. Back to the bone.

"In 1839, on the basis of a single mysterious fragment of bone from the other side of the world, the great English anatomist Richard Owen reached the conclusion that it came from an unknown gigantic flightless bird. Despite this being shortly before it is time of Darwin and the great evolution debate, many initially thought Owen's claim preposterous. A huge new bird that couldn't fly? Like an ostrich? Ridiculous!"--BOOK JACKET.