Kelenken, the "Winged Deity," isn't
exactly popular enough to really be 
considered a deity, but at least it
isn't a weird herbivore like 
gastornis. But perhaps it qualifies 
with its size; approximately three
meters tall, kelenken was the
largest of the "terror birds." 
Terror certainly was the right word 
to describe any animal with a 
fierce, hooked beak such as this. 
Incredibly agile and swift, kelenken 
chased down its prey without mercy. 
It had two possible methods of 
attack: blows from the beak or
picking up and shaking. Blows from 
the beak would shatter bones while
chasing, rendering its food immobile 
and so it could administer the final
blow. When picking up its prey, it 
could vigorously shake it until its
back broke, paralyzing it. 

Living in South America during the 
Miocene Period, its large size and 
beak made it a king of the food 
chain among the creatures of the 
continent. It lived in the grassy
foothills of what is now the Andes 
mountain, likely hunting ungulates 
with its massive, 28-centimeter-long
beak. The crowning jewel of this 
king, kelenken's beak surely did not
help its ego on top of the food 
chain.
