All records listed on our website are current and up-to-date. It was caught by members of the Antarctic research ship USNS Eltanin in the Tasman Sea on 18 September 1965. They fly facing the wind and using it to fly upward. The largest wingspan of any living species of bird was that of a male wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) of the southern oceans, with a wingspan of 3.63m (11ft 11in). These birds mastered a technique called dynamic soaring, which involves flying in a curving path so they can save energy. They can fly a distance of 22 meters for a single-meter drop, which means they are capable of flying without expending much energy at all. Besides having the largest wingspan in the world, Albatrosses are actually pretty good at flying within air currents. No wonder they are considered the bird with the largest wingspan! Sharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, .uk, CC BY-SA 4.0,ġ – Wandering Albatross 12 ft (3.6 m) wingspanīelieve it or not, albatrosses are capable of crossing 500 miles (800km) a day maintaining the speed of 130km/h without a single flap of their wings. Great White pelican wingspan By Charles J. Because of overfishing, they are being forced to travel long distances to find fish. Talk about an easy meal? Or at least, it used to be. They eat almost 3 lb of fish every day, using their large beaks to scoop the fishes while flying. The Great White Pelican lives in flocks and is a strong flier, often traveling in beautiful v-formation groups. 2 – Great White Pelican 11 ft (3.6 m) wingspan The liquid component of their poop generates a cooling effect, which helps them to not overheat. Marabou Stork Marabou storks are scavengers and are mainly found around the Sahara Desert. It mainly lives in semi-arid shrub land, savannas and grasslands. This makes it one of the heaviest flying animals in the world. It has a wingspan of up to 9 feet and can weigh up to 40 pounds. During grass fires, they fly around the flames to swoop down on prey that is fleeing the fire.ĭefinitely not the cleanest bird, the Marabou stork will often defecate on its own legs and feed to regulate its body temperature. The kori bustard is the largest flying bird found in Africa. In this process, they are capable of swallowing up to 2.2 lb of food in a single bite! Their beaks are not well adapted for cutting meat, so most of the time they literally just “dig in” the meat inside the body. Even though the Marabou is a stork, to whom we usually associate with a chill bird carrying babies, it is a carnivore and enjoys eating scraps of dead animals.

Bird with the largest wingspan