[3] Despite being geographically closer to the kiwi, phylogenetic analyses based on recovered DNA show moa to have been closest to the Central and South American tinamous.

Analysis of their skull shows that they had somewhat poor eyesight due to their small orbits, rounded bills, and a very acute sense of smell thanks to a strongly developed olfactory system.

Uniquely, the moa were essentially wingless; the only remnant of a wing was the scapulocoracoid bone, which, at one point earlier in its evolution, was where the humerus should have attached.

[citation needed] Giant moas were likely fully feathered, except for their heads and a small portion of the neck, as well as the tarsus and feet.

Giant moas in particular are ecologically equivalent to giraffes and other long-necked plant-eating megafauna, though they lack any living analogues in New Zealand.

These birds sported a very robust bill, and finds of a relatively large collection of gizzard stone for grinding food indicate a highly fibrous diet.

[7] Most foraging took place in forests and open fields, with fossilized coprolites revealing the diet of D. robustus to have included twigs, seeds, berries, leaves, flowers, vines, herbs, and shrubs.