Top 10 Biggest Birds in the World

10. Dalmatian pelican

The Dalmatian pelican is one of the largest members in the pelican family, and also the world’s largest freshwater bird, in both the weight and length by any of the largest swans. These birds will be found generally in rivers, deltas, estuaries, and lakes. Usually, the males are larger than females in the pelican’s family, and their main food item is fish. They have features such as the grey legs, white plumage, curly nape feathers, and the wings that will appear as solid grey. In the winter season, they usually stay in the seasonal lakes in India and in ice-free lakes in Europe. For feeding, the birds visit coastal areas in the winter season.

9. Wandering albatross

The wandering albatross is from the Diomedeidae family, and it is a large seabird from that family, which is also known as snowy albatross or white-winged albatross and mainly found in the Southern Ocean region of the circumpolar range. The wandering albatross will be the same size as the southern royal albatross. It contains the largest wingspan of any known living bird in the world. It is known as the most studied and best-known bird species in the world. Some birds of this kind can fly more than 120000 km in a year to be known as one of the most far-ranging birds.

8. Kori bustard

The kori bustard is from Africa and is one of the largest flying birds. As the name tells, it is the member of the bustard family and one of the four rare species in the large-bodied genus Ardeotis that is ranging from Africa to India and to Australia. These are the omnivores and the ground-dwelling bird. The Male kori bustards have more weight than the females who attempt to breed with as many females as possible. The Kori Bustard will be found in wheat fields and cultivated areas with scattered trees. The nest of these birds will be in a shallow hollow in the earth.

7. Mute swan

The mute swan is a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae and one of the species of swan. The ‘mute’ for this bird came as it has less voice compared to other swan species. First, these species of birds were found in North America and lesser-known in regions like Australasia and southern Africa, where Mute Swans will be found in these regions. It has a length of 125 to 170 cm, and they are known through the knob atop the beak that is larger in males. These birds are naturally found in the Great Lakes in Canada and in the eastern United States.

6. Turkey

The domestic turkey is a very large fowl and is one of the species in Meleagris, which is the same as the wild turkey. It is the popular form of poultry available in the various parts of the world as industrialized farming has made the amount of meat very cheap. Most domestic turkeys will have white feathers because when the carcass is dressed, their feathers are less visible. Also, the brown and bronze feathered can be seen. Chicks are called poults or turkey wings, and female domestic turkeys are called hens. 

5. Greater rhea

The greater rhea is the largest bird found in South America, a flightless bird species. It mainly lives in a variety of open areas like savanna, grassy wetlands, and grasslands. It weighs about 20 to 27 kgs. The greater rhea’s total lifetime will be 10.5 years, and they can fly above 1,200 meters, i.e., 3,900 ft. They are known for their reproductive habits, and during the spring and summer season, which is called the breeding season, they stay near water. In recent years, the population has been established by themselves in the Northern Germany region. Also, these species are listed under the “Near Threatened” by the IUCN.

4. Emperor Penguin

The emperor penguin is the heavyweight penguin and the tallest of all living penguins who live in Antarctica. Both the male and female are of the same size, weighing 22 kg to 45 kg and having 100 cm in length. Like other penguins, they also have the wings, with a streamlined body, and flightless. Their primary diet will be fish and other creatures. The lifespan of emperor penguins will be 20 years in the wild, and some of the individuals may live to 50 years also. The female penguin lays a single egg, and the male one will hatch the eggs for over 2 months, and then the female returns to the sea to feed.

3. Emu

The emu is one of the largest living birds through the height. They are regularly found in Australia and are the largest bird from that region. They are flightless birds with soft-feathered and brown in colour with long legs and necks. Emus can reach up to 1.9 meters of height and travel long distances at a time, and when needed, they can go with the speed of 50 km/h. They are known for they can stay without eating food for weeks as well. They have a variety of plants and insects and usually travel in pairs. They can form large flocks while flying to move towards in search of a new food source.

2. Southern cassowary

The Southern Cassowary is a flightless blackbird, which is also called a double-wattled cassowary or Australian Cassowary. They mainly live in Indonesia, Australia, and New Guinea, which is one of the three living species of Cassowary. Also found in the tropical rainforests of nearby mangroves stands and savannah forests. They have a blue face, bristly black plumage with long necks, and two red wattles and are stiff. The Cassowary will be around 7 inches in length, hanging down around its throat. They flew at different heights in different areas as they fly below 1,100 mt in Australia and 500 mt in New Guinea.


Ostriches are the part of the infraclass Palaeognathae that are a group of flightless birds. There will be two types of living species of ostrich, namely the Somali ostrich and the common ostrich. Still, there are nine other known species, in which seven are extinct in the genus. These are mainly found in African countries. They look very different with long legs and neck, and they can run with short bursts over around 43 mph that is the fastest land speed of any bird. Common Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any living bird. They lived in India 25,000 years ago in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and MP.

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