Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and Curtin University in Australia recently discovered a new lineage of the birds using eggshell remnants, as well as isotope geochemistry and protein extraction. “This is the first time a taxonomic identification has been derived from an elephant bird eggshell and it opens up a field that nobody would have thought about before,” said co-author Gifford Miller from the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at CU Boulder in a press release. Sometimes called "flightless giants," the aepyornis lived more than 1,200 years ago and were deemed Madagascar’s largest land animals. The findings suggest there may have been more diversity among birds than scientists know about, Miller said.