Top-14 Birds with Largest Wingspan around The World-Nextbirds.com

There are almost 9000 to 10,000 species of birds discovered all around the world. These species exhibit entirely different characteristics including habitat, color, plumage, beak, reproduction pattern, migration pattern, length, width, and wingspan. Small birds have small wings large birds exhibit large wings according to their bodies. Some raptors have large wings specifically to glide while catching there pray. The wingspan can range from a few inches to 10 feet. This article discusses birds with the largest wingspan present all around the world.

Top-14 Birds with Largest Wingspan around the World

Wandering Albatross :

Wandering albatross is also known as white-winged, snowy albatross, or goonie. They are found in islands of South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen, Prince Edward, Macquarie, and islands of South New Zealand. The scientific name of this bird is Diomedea exulans as it belongs to family Diomedeidae, consisting of seabirds. Albatrosses are one of the largest birds among this family.

Wingspan:

The most interesting fact about these birds is their wingspan. They have the largest wingspan among all the living birds. The wings are 3.7 meters long (12 feet). These long wings allow them to fly high and for longer distances. So as they are birds of far distances and spend most of their lives in the sky.

Distance covered by birds is difficult to measure, but once a study uses a band to measure distance traveled by albatross was found to be 6000 miles in just 12 days.

Great White Pelican:

This bird stands second among birds with the largest wingspan after wandering albatross. Great White Pelican belongs to the family Pelecanidae. Its scientific name is Pelecanus onocrotalus. It is found in shallow swamps and lakes of Africa, Asia, and Europe. This pelican is also considered as one of the largest bird.

Wingspan:

It exhibits the largest wingspan of 3.6 meters that is almost 12 feet just like albatross. Due to their long wingspan, they considered as one of the most powerful fliers and usually glide through the sky in spectacular circular, V-formation, or linear groups.

Southern Royal Albatross:

Just like wandering albatrosses, royal albatross belongs to the family of sea birds known as Diomedeidae. Both of these birds are the largest among all the other members of the family. Its scientific name is Diomedea epomophora. It is also considered one of the largest birds in the world.

Their habitat includes Sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, Adams Island, Auckland Island, Enderby Island, and Otago Peninsula in New Zealand.

The wingspan of royal albatross is estimated to be 3.51 meters (11.5 feet) which makes is one of the top 14 birds with the largest wingspan.

Dalmatian Pelican:

This pelican is one of the largest freshwater birds around the world and one of the most dominating members of pelicans. Its scientific name is Pelecanus Crispus. They are very elegant and soaring birds that fly in a very appealing way. They also compete with albatross in terms of their wingspan.

It is one of the largest pelican bird with a wingspan of 3.51 meters (11.5 feet). This largest wingspan makes this one of top birds among Birds with Largest Wingspan.

This bird is found in Europe, Asia, China, India, and Russia in shallow waters and lakes.

Tristan albatross:

Tristan albatross also belong to the same family like wandering albatross. It is different than albatross in terms of size and color of the back. They are smaller and have a darker back. The scientific name of this bird is Diomedea dabbenena.

These birds are mostly native to the Atlantic sea, S. America, Australia, and Brazil. Although the exact habitat of these birds is not fully known. This species is also on the list of birds with the largest wingspan. Its wings range to 3.5 meters that is 11.5 feet almost.

These albatross do not attain full plumage like wandering albatross and also have a smaller beak.

Antipodean albatross:

These birds are shorter than wandering albatross and exhibit a color range of black white or brown. The color depends upon the gender, age, and race. The scientific name of this species is Diomedea antipodeans.

It mostly lives on Auckland Island. There range also includes, Tropic of Capricorn, Australia Chile in the South Pacific region, and Antelope Islands.

This bird has wings up to 3.3 meters that are 10.8 feet. This huge length of wings makes them one of the birds with the largest wingspan.

Andean Condor:

Andean condor is a type of vulture that belongs to family Cathartidae. Its scientific name is Vulture gryphus. It is one of the largest birds in terms of weight, size, and wingspan. It exhibits a weight of 33 pounds which requires a large span of wings and air currents to let them fly and glide easily in the air.

So their wings expand to 3.3 meters that is 10 feet in length. This huge wingspan makes them aloft in the air.

These birds are black with white collar and can survive up to 75 years. These birds live in South America, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Marabou stork:

The bird Marabou stork belongs to the family Ciconiidae with the scientific name Leptoptilos crummier. This bird also belongs to the largest birds in the world. They exhibit a weight of 9 Kilograms and are 152 cm long.

This bird is ranked among top birds with the largest wingspan. Their wings range to 3.2 meters (10 feet). These large wings help them glide precisely in the skies.

Black Vulture:

Common names of this vulture are the Cinereous vulture, Eurasian Black Vulture, or monk vulture. It belongs to the family Accipitridae with the scientific name Aegypius monachus.

birds flying with largest wings — Black Vulture

These birds are large raptors and belong to one of the two largest vultures among the old vulture world. These birds exhibit a weight of 14 kilograms and a wingspan of 3.1 meters that is around 10 feet.

They mostly live in temperate regions of Eurasia. They are also found in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and India.

These birds prefer to live in hilly high altitude areas with dry open habitats and are limited to remote areas with very little human disturbance.

Himalayan Vulture:

Another name of this vulture is Griffon vulture and is native to the Himalayan region and Tibetan plateau. It also belongs to the family Accipitridae and its scientific name is Gyps himalayensis. Himalayan Vulture is one of the two largest vultures among the old vulture world and is factual raptors.

It is one of the largest species of genus Gyps. It is the largest and heaviest bird in the region of Himalaya.

They reside in higher regions of Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Pamir.

These are heaviest birds and can weigh up to 6 kilograms. They have a large wingspan of 3.1 meters that is 10 feet. This measurement ranked this bird among the list of top birds with the largest wingspan.

Trumpeter swan:

The trumpeter swan belongs to the family Anatidae. Its scientific name is Cygnus buccinators. They are the largest and heaviest birds among all the waterfowls that can fly. The weight can be 7 to 13 kilograms. Their wingspan is 3.1 meters (10 feet) in length. Which makes stand among one of the top birds with the largest wingspan.

The trumpeter swans are native to North America and have white plumage. Their habitat includes Canada and northern states of America including Montana, Red Rock Lake, and Washington State.

Kori bustard:

Another bird with the largest wingspan is Kori Bustard. It belongs to the family Otididae. its scientific name is Ardeotis kori. It is a ground-dwelling bird and is native to Africa. They are mostly grey and brown with fie patterns.

These birds are almost 5 feet long and have a wingspan of 2.7 meters that is 9 feet.

top birds with largest wingspan — Kori Bustard

Whooper Swan:

It is also known as a common swan and pronounced as Hooper swan. This swan also belongs to the family Anatidae. Its scientific name is Cygnus Cygnus. Their habitat includes the areas of Europe, Asia Scotland, and the Indian subcontinent, Iceland, UK, and Ireland.

The whooper swan is the counterpart of the trumpeter swan of North America. Whereas Whooper swan is native to Northern Hemisphere. It is very heavy and spends most of its time in the water floating and search for food.

As we know this swan is very heavy and its legs cannot bear its weight that is why it spends most of its time on the water and feed on plants and small animals in the water.

These swans migrate 1000s of miles in winters. this flight is possible due to their large wingspan. Their wingspan is 2.7 meters that 8.8 feet. This large size enables them to fly far distances easily.

White-Tailed eagle:

It is the largest raptor of sea eagles across the Eurasian temperate regions. It belongs to the family of Accipitridae. Its scientific name is Haliaeetus albicilla.

It lives across a wide range in the regions of Greenland, Australia Iceland, and Hokkaido and Japan. They usually live near the water bodies including coastal and freshwaters.

The white-tailed eagle exhibit a wingspan of 2.5 meters that is 8 feet. These largest wings help them glide high in the sky and makes them one of the birds with the largest wingspan.

Also, see 6 Most Beautiful Birds with Long Beaks

Conclusion:

The birds discussed above are some of the birds which the largest wingspan found around the world. These birds not only have the largest wingspan but also exhibits large bodies. Due to their huge size, they possess large wings that help them glide easily in the air and too far off places during their breeding seasons due to other seasonal variations.

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Kainat Khan

I am an Environmentalist & a Teacher. I have completed my masters from the University of Punjab & I like birds because of their beauty and ability to fly high. I freelance at Fiverr as well.