She works in Argentina as well and was one of the researchers to scientifically describe the skeleton Guillermo found in 2004. Lichtman: This is paleontologist Sara Bertelli. Sara Bertelli: It was found by a high school student, Guillermo Aguirre-Zabala. The biggest species lived in Argentine Patagonia 15 million years ago, and the story of its discovery could easily be dramatized into a limited-run podcast. Lichtman: And the largest ones were real large-like, 10 feet tall and 400 pounds. They were the grizzly bears of birds, the great white sharks of the land, Jack the Ripper, but with feathers.ĭegrange: The largest ones were the top predators in South America, together with the marsupials and terrestrial crocodiles.
Lichtman: And they got their name, terror birds, because they are, once again, f-ing terrifying. There were 17 or 18 species in the group-it’s up in the air.ĭegrange: They are almost all from Argentina, but there are some localities in Uruguay and Brazil, and Texas and Florida in the States. Lichtman: He says terror birds flew onto the scene around 45 million years ago. Terror birds are bizarre birds, full of exclusive features and rare features that may make them even more strange, more unique. I like to use the word bizarre, which is quite common here in my country. Lichtman: Dino is an avian paleontologist in Argentina, and he has a special relationship with terror birds.ĭegrange: Oh, I love them. Let me introduce you to our terror bird expert.ĭegrange: My name is Federico Javier Degrange. I’m squawking about one of the most frightening birds to ever peck out a place on planet Earth: the terror bird. It’s the last episode in this four-part series.Īnd the bird on deck for today-it’s been on my life list for a while. And today is my swan song to big birds, gargantuan game, f-ing huge feathered friends. Lichtman: I’m Flora Lichtman, and this is Scientific American’s Science, Quickly. the most, most amazing group of birds that existed ever. You can listen to Episode One here Episode Two here and Episode Three here.įlora Lichtman: I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, but this is the best way to describe terror birds.įederico Degrange: Terror birds are f-ing amazing. This is Episode Four of a four-part Fascination on really big birds.
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