Winged wonder of history unearthed

Professor Mike Parker Pearson, right, from Sheffield University's Department of Archaeology, carries out excavations in Madagascar that led to scientists extracting the DNA of a bird believed to be the biggest that ever existed.

The elephant bird, which died out in the 17th century, stood nearly three metres tall and had eggs with a capacity of 11 litres – the equivalent to about 240 chicken eggs.

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