The Real Big Bird?

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=bigbird06m&date=20041206&query=fossil

This is a fascinating article. I grew up a couple blocks from the shores of the Green River. I learned today that tiny, 18 pound horses, hippopotamuses (or hippopotami), and this Big Bird, Diatryma, lived there before me. "When John Patterson stumbled across what could be one of the biggest fossil finds in the Northwest, a fairy-tale ending seemed assured. The three-toed track he found near the Green River in 1992 was a near-perfect fit for Diatryma, a flightless bird that stood as tall as Shaquille O'Neal and weighed 350 pounds or more. " Cool, eh? /jack
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