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A rare gigantic fossilized Elephant Bird egg will be sold in Christie's auction house in London.

The estimated selling price is around $40,000 or more.

The elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century.

Christie's said in the press release that "We are honoured to present a rare fragment of a dodo bone femur, in the Travel, Science and Natural History sale at South Kensington on 24 April (estimate: £10,000-15,000, illustrated above). This is believed to be the first dodo bone to come to auction since 1934."

The egg that will be sold is a very rare and complete sub-fossilised Elephant Bird egg. This egg measuring over 100 times the average size of a chicken egg stands at 8¾ inches (21cm) in diameter and 12 inches (30cm) in height.

The extinct Elephant Bird, a native of Madagascar, was the largest bird ever to have lived. Resembling a heavily-built ostrich with long legs and talons, it grew to around 11 to 10 feet in height.

Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house, currently the world's largest, with sales for the first half of 2012, some $3.5 billion, representing the highest total for a corresponding period in company and art market history.