Birds are adapted for flight, which usually isn't helped by being very big and heavy.
But there are some birds that have found ways around this to become
the biggest and heaviest birds in the world. Let's take a look at the BIG picture.
Let's start with the largest birds that are able to fly.
The Kori Bustard wingspan is max 9 feet, and they can weigh up to 44 pounds!
This is the heaviest bird in the world that is still able to fly. Even so, they spend 70% of
their time walking on the ground looking for small animals and some plant material. They
tend to quietly walk or run away for safety. But if needed they can run fast enough to open their
wings and launch themselves into the air. But they do not fly far, just enough for safety.
The Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird in the world. From
wingtip to wingtip is up to 12 feet! And the bird itself weighs up to 28 pounds.
Its long, thin wings give it access to an unusual flight ability called dynamic soaring. It harvests
energy from wind-speed differences near the ocean surface to fly with very little energy spent,
letting the Wandering Albatross continue looking for its next meal.
The Common Ostrich is the largest bird in the world today, at up to 340 pounds and 9 feet tall.
They have lost the streamlined feather shape of many birds.
Ostriches graze for parts of plants and will sometimes eat small animals. Their long legs
give them a powerful kick for defense, plus they can run at up to 43 miles per hour. Even
with many land predators around, the Ostrich has found success in being a very large bird.
In fact, the top five largest birds all have the same general body shape and life strategy,
even though they live in different parts of the world.
But believe it or not, the Ostrich is not even close to being the largest bird of all time.
The Elephant Bird is now extinct but was 10 feet tall and weighed 1,100 pounds
(three ostriches in weight). It lived on the island of Madagascar, and ate plant material,
including some plants with giant seeds that would be perfect for dispersal by these birds.
Elephant birds went extinct right around the time that humans arrived on the island.
And the largest bird of all time. Pelagornis is an extinct bird with an estimated wingspan of
20 to 24 feet (two wandering albatrosses). It had long, thin wings that may have given
it dynamic soaring abilities like the Wandering Albatross. Its beak had sharp bony projections
that indicate Pelagornis was a predator. We're lucky that it probably focused on fish,
birds, or other prey on the ocean, these birds only went extinct about 2.5 million years ago.
We think of birds using speed, flight, and agility to survive.
But it's amazing how many different ways birds have found to succeed in the world,
like having an enormous size or unique flight styles.
We have the privilege of living in a world with so many things to learn.
And we still have lots to learn about Life. If you would like to continue learning,
you can watch another video on this channel. And you can subscribe as a commitment to
improving your knowledge. Thanks for stopping by this week to learn what makes Life awesome!