Largest Flying Bird
What Is The Largest Flying Bird?
The subject of the largest flying bird has many variables, as there weight, height, and wing span to consider when deciding. Assuming that this needs to be a personal decision, we will talk about all three largest flying bird species and let you determine for yourself which is the most impressive. None of them are native to North America, so we will discuss the largest flying bird on our home turf as well. This should be a fun and informative little journey for us all, so get ready to be blown away.
For a little twist to our largest flying bird discovery, we will begin with a bird who rarely touches land at all. The Royal Albatross is a sea dwelling bird whose native habitat encompasses the frozen seas of Antarctica. He is regularly recorded as having an average wing span of 11 feet. The scientific record held for the longest wing span among these birds is actually documented at 11 feet 11 inches, marking the largest flying bird wing span ever officially recorded by science. The average wing span of the Maribou Stork is documented at 9 feet 6 inches, but there are several unconfirmed reports of live specimens measuring in at 13 feet 4 inches. The most common and easily provable largest flying bird wing span is owned by the Andean Condor, who quite regularly measures in at a steady 10 feet from tip to tip.
The record for the largest flying bird in terms of weight is held by an African species known as the Kori Bustard. The heaviest of these birds have weighed in at 42 pounds even, which is an astronomical amount of weight to carry with feathers and bones only. This is weight with an empty stomach. The closest runner ups for the largest flying bird in the weight category are the Eurasian Bustard and the Mute Swan, both of which have been placed in the record books at a whopping 40 pounds even. There are, as always, reports of each of these birds toppling fifty-one pounds, but none of these suggestions have been officially reported or confirmed. Talk about a fat turkey, these largest flying bird species would feed an entire village in one sitting!
Despite the popular belief that the bald eagle is the largest flying bird indigenes to North America, the record must be put straight. The largest flying bird on our continent is highly endangered, as the bald eagle once was, and is disappearing quickly from the face of our culture. The California Condor, an enormous scavenger of the vulture family, boasts a wingspan of 9 feet 8 inches on average, and weighs between 18 and 23 pounds.