ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

Late quaternary prehistoric birds lived a long, long time ago! They were big and cool and interesting, but they're all extinct now. This means that you can't see them in real life, but scientists have learned a lot about them by studying their fossils.

Back when these birds were alive, the world looked different. There were lots of places where birds could live and find food. Because of this, there were many different kinds of prehistoric birds.

Some of these birds were so big that they could have easily picked you up and carried you away! These were called "megafauna" birds, and they could have weighed as much as 1,500 pounds! That's like having a car made of feathers!

Others were smaller, but still pretty big. They had long beaks and sharp claws, and they used them to catch other animals to eat. Some of these birds could run really fast, while others could fly. Can you imagine a bird that could do both?

Some prehistoric birds were really weird-looking. They had big crests on their heads or strange shapes to their beaks. Scientists think that these features were used for communication or for attracting a mate.

Even though these birds lived a long, long time ago, they still had an impact on the world we live in today. For example, some plants rely on birds to spread their seeds around. When the prehistoric birds went extinct, these plants had to find other ways to reproduce. It's just one example of how everything in nature is connected!