Largest Birds in the World: Tallest, Heaviest and Widest Wings

Tallest, heaviest or widest: how bird size is measured

“Largest bird” can mean several things. Height suits long-legged runners such as ostriches, weight is the usual measure for the heaviest birds, and wingspan, measured from wingtip to wingtip with the wings spread, is how flying giants are compared. Ornithologists also measure length from bill tip to tail tip, which favors long-necked birds such as swans and pelicans.

Weights vary a lot through the year, so we give typical ranges first and then the best documented records. Many old claims of giant birds were never checked, and some come from captive birds that eat better than wild ones.

The largest birds at a glance

1. Common ostrich: the tallest and heaviest bird

The common ostrich (Struthio camelus) holds every overall size record among living birds. Males stand 2.1–2.75 m (6 ft 11 in–9 ft) tall and usually weigh 100–130 kg (220–290 lb), while females reach 1.75–1.9 m (5 ft 9 in–6 ft 3 in) and 90–120 kg (200–260 lb). An exceptional male weighed about 156 kg (346 lb). Ostriches also lay the largest eggs of any living bird, about 15 cm (5.9 in) long and 1.4 kg (3.1 lb). Read more in our ostrich profile.

2. Somali ostrich

The Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) of the Horn of Africa was split from the common ostrich as a separate species in 2014. It is about the same size, so the two ostriches together hold the top places for the biggest birds on Earth. Breeding males are easy to tell apart by their blue-gray necks and thighs.

3. Southern cassowary

The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) of New Guinea and northeastern Australia usually stands 1.5–1.8 m (4 ft 11 in–5 ft 11 in) tall. Females are larger than males and weigh about 47–76 kg (103–168 lb), and the biggest recent birds reached around 85 kg (187 lb) and 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The closely related northern cassowary of New Guinea is about the same height, with females averaging around 58 kg (128 lb).

4. Emu

Australia’s emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the third tallest bird in the world, after the two ostriches, standing 1.5–1.9 m (4 ft 11 in–6 ft 3 in) tall. Adults weigh 18–60 kg (40–132 lb), with females usually a little heavier than males. For a side-by-side look at the two tallest birds, see emu vs ostrich.

5. Emperor penguin

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) of Antarctica is the largest and heaviest penguin, weighing 22–45 kg (49–99 lb) depending on the season; males lose a large share of their weight while fasting through the winter to incubate their single egg. It is often said to stand 1.2 m (4 ft) tall, but measurements of wild birds suggest a standing height of about 0.8–1.1 m (2 ft 8 in–3 ft 7 in).

6. Greater rhea

The greater rhea (Rhea americana) of eastern South America is the largest native bird in the Americas, weighing 20–27 kg (44–60 lb). Like all the giant birds above, it cannot fly; it relies on running and on its height to spot danger across the grasslands.

7. Great bustard: the heaviest flying bird

The great bustard (Otis tarda) of Europe and Asia is the heaviest bird that can fly. Males usually weigh 5.8–18 kg (13–40 lb), and the heaviest verified bird, collected in Manchuria, weighed about 21 kg (46 lb). Females are far lighter, often less than half a male’s weight, making this the bird species with the biggest size difference between the sexes. Spain and Portugal hold about 60% of the world population, and the species is listed as Endangered.

8. Kori bustard

The kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) of the African savanna rivals the great bustard as the heaviest flying bird. Males typically weigh 7–18 kg (15–40 lb), and a few exceptional birds have reached about 20 kg (44 lb). It has a wingspan of up to about 2.75 m (9 ft) but spends most of its time walking, and it is listed as Near Threatened.

9. Mute swan and trumpeter swan

Swans are among the heaviest birds in regular flight. Male mute swans in Britain average about 11 kg (24 lb), and one unusually large male in Poland weighed almost 23 kg (51 lb), though experts doubt it could still fly. The trumpeter swan, the largest waterfowl in the world, is North America’s heaviest native bird, typically weighing 7–13.6 kg (15–30 lb) with a wingspan of up to about 3 m (10 ft).

10. Andean condor: the largest bird of prey

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is generally considered the largest bird of prey. Its wingspan averages about 2.8 m (9 ft 3 in) and can reach 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in), and its wings have the largest surface area of any living bird. Adults weigh up to about 15 kg (33 lb), with males averaging around 12.5 kg (28 lb). It soars over the Andes for hours, barely flapping, and is listed as Vulnerable. North America’s California condor is slightly smaller, with a wingspan of about 3 m (9 ft 10 in).

11. Wandering albatross: the widest wingspan

The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) of the Southern Ocean has the longest wings of any living bird. Its wingspan averages about 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in), and the longest-winged birds measured reached about 3.7 m (12 ft). Claims of 4.2 m (13 ft 10 in) or more have never been verified. Those long, narrow wings let it glide for hours without flapping, and some birds circle the Southern Ocean several times a year. It is listed as Vulnerable, mainly because albatrosses drown after taking baited fishing hooks.

12. Dalmatian pelican

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is the largest pelican and one of the heaviest flying birds, averaging about 9.5 kg (21 lb). It measures 1.6–1.8 m (5 ft 3 in–5 ft 11 in) from bill to tail, making it one of the longest birds alive, and its wingspan is typically 2.7–3.2 m (8 ft 10 in–10 ft 6 in). It breeds from southeastern Europe to Mongolia and is listed as Near Threatened. The question of which flying bird is truly largest is explored in What is the largest flying bird?

Extinct giants: the largest birds that ever lived

The biggest birds of all are extinct. Madagascar’s elephant birds stood about 3 m (10 ft) tall and are estimated to have weighed several hundred kilograms. A 2018 study named the largest of them Vorombe titan and suggested it was the heaviest bird ever, but later DNA work indicates those bones probably belong to large Aepyornis maximus. Elephant birds laid eggs more than 30 cm (12 in) long, with about 160 times the volume of a chicken egg, and died out around 1,000 years ago, probably because of people.

Australia’s Dromornis stirtoni, which lived millions of years ago, also stood about 3 m (10 ft) tall and probably weighed over 500 kg (1,100 lb). New Zealand’s tallest moas reached about 3.6 m (12 ft) with the neck stretched up and weighed around 230 kg (510 lb). They were hunted by Haast’s eagle, the largest eagle known, which weighed an estimated 10–18 kg (22–40 lb).

Among flying birds, the record belongs to Pelagornis sandersi, a seabird known from a fossil found in South Carolina and about 25 million years old. Its wingspan is estimated at 6.1–7.4 m (20–24 ft), about twice that of a wandering albatross. Argentavis magnificens of Argentina had a slightly shorter wingspan but was heavier, up to about 70 kg (154 lb). Learn more in What was the biggest bird ever?