flightless

[ flahyt-lis ]

/ ˈflaɪt lɪs /

incapable of flying: flightless birds such as the moa, rhea, and dodo.

Origin of flightless

First recorded in 1870–75; flight¹ + -less

Flightless rails have apparently developed in the absence of predation.

The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3 |Rollin H. Baker
The flightless great auk, which at one time was common along the north Atlantic coast, belongs to this family.

Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 4 [April 1901] |Various
It was probably a poor flier, though not flightless, as Fulica chathamensis was.

Extinct Birds |Walter Rothschild
Here we find the flightless Apteryx and a flightless goose now extinct, also the extinct Moa.

Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 2 [February 1901] |Various

There are flightless birds, but they all live in climates in which they can exist at all seasons.

The Migration of Birds |T. A. Coward

flightless

/ (ˈflaɪtlɪs) /

(of certain birds and insects) unable to fly See also ratite