Also: Emus and moas only look alike. Genes tell a different story.
From New Scientist:
Huge flightless birds like emus and moas may look alike, but their genes now tell us they are only distantly related. Ancient DNA reveals that birds lost the ability to fly on six separate occasions within 10 million years. It seems the extinction of the dinosaurs created a brief window for big ground-dwelling birds, before large mammals evolved.
and
While we think of birds as flying animals, Penny says their natural state is foraging on the ground. If there are no predators and no competitors for food, it makes sense for them to grow and lose the ability to fly.
So all those adaptations for flight just happened, because of competition in foraging?
Note: Emus have been successfully raised in Canada.
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