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The elephant bird, which has been extinct since the 17^th to 18^th centuries, was considered to be one of the largest bird species ever known to mankind. It stood at roughly 10 to 11 feet tall and weighed up to 1,100 pounds. Although this bird has not been in existence for hundreds of years, it can still make quite an impression on current day society. According to the Christie's auction house, a rare Elephant Bird egg was sold for a total of $101,613. The auction house had previously estimated that the egg would sell for $30 to $40k, but to its dismay, the auction receive doubled the amount it expected.

The Elephant Bird egg was auctioned off via a phone conversation that took roughly 10 minutes of bidding. Although the anonymous buyer was not the first person to purchase an Elephant Bird egg from the auction house, the person was definitely the first to have paid this much. Previous Elephant Bird eggs were sold at a much lower price according to the history found on the auction house's website.

The egg, which was partially fossilized, measured nearly nine inches in diameter, one foot long and is roughly 100 times larger than the size of an average chicken's egg. The egg is believed to have originated from Madagascar before the 17^th century.

The Christie's auction house website described the bird as "an overgrown ostrich."

"It's the largest bird to walk the earth. The Elephant Bird was thought to be the giant flying beast known as the Roc (Or Ruhk) in the tales of Sinbad and accounts of Marco Polo's voyages. The bird grew to around 10 or 11 feet in height and whilst probably unable to devour an elephant, as the Roc was reputed to do, it certainly was the largest bird ever to have lived," the website added.

Even though the egg sold at a much higher price than expected, the buyer was able to add this rare artifact to his/her collection.