phorusrhacid

English

Noun

phorusrhacid (plural phorusrhacids)

1. Any of the extinct flightless birds of the family Phorusrhacidae, which inhabited South America from the early Cenozoic era until about 0.1 million years ago.

   Synonym: terror bird

   • 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page 90:

     Phorusrhacids have excellent eyesight, so as the Earth continues its path around the sun, and the seasons change, the darkness will not be an encumbrance.