There is no exact record of when this giant, magnificant bird - Moa () became extinct. These flightless birds inhabitated the islands of New Zealand. There were more than a dozen species of moa and the largest of these may have weighed more than 200 kilograms and stood 2 to 3 metres high.

It is believed that the different subspecies of the moa became extinct at different periods, however there is no archaeological record that can verify this point. Explanation of the extinction of the moa is also uncertain, but it is most likely due to the overexploitation of humans when the first Polynesians colonised New Zealand 1,000 years ago and hunted the moa for food. There are numerous archaeological sites containing evidence of moa hunting by humans.

The declination of moa numbers due to natural causes before human arrival, predation of young chicks by dogs and rats that came to the islands with the first humans, and habitat alteration through extensive burning. The Maori practiced burning because it tipped the balance of the ecosystem in favor of certain desirable plants and fish, might be some factors that have also contributed to the moa extinction.

Europeans which set foot on the island in 1770, did not learn of moas until the 1830's when scientists first analyzed some bone fragments and realized that giant birds had lived on the islands. This show that the moas most probably have been wiped out before the 1800s, although there were many supposed sightings of the bird between the 1850-1880 period and the Maori tribe also had oral accounts of the giant bird.