A giant “cannibal” parrot which roamed the Earth 19 million years ago has been discovered by scientists.

Dubbed Hercules, the one-metre-high bird is the largest parrot ever found, and twice the size of the largest species alive today.

Analysis of a fossil discovered in what was once a Miocene epoch forest in New Zealand indicates the 7kg bird had a huge beak, able to crack into and break down most food sources, including other parrots.

The fossil is approximately the size of the giant “dodo” pigeon, which went extinct in the Seventeenth Century.

The discovery was made by experts at Flinders University, The University of New South Wales Sydney, and Canterbury Museum in New Zealand.

They have have formally named the species Heracles inexpectatus, to reflect its Herculean size and strength, as well as the unexpected nature of the discovery.

Professor Mike Archer, from UNSW Sydney, said: “Heracles, as the largest parrot ever, no doubt with a massive parrot beak that could crack wide open anything it fancied, may well have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other parrots.