It was not so easy to rank the largest birds. What criterion to take as a basis? Growth? The weight? Wingspan? The problem is that there are birds that are tall but skinny, or small but fat; with a gigantic wingspan, but light, or even worse – large and heavy, but not flying or very beautiful. This article attempts to compile a top – list, taking into account all these parameters.
Of course, only the ostrich, the largest flightless bird, can be in the first place in the ranking. Its height reaches 2.7 meters, and its weight is 130 kg. It is not surprising that he cannot lift such a weight into the air, but he runs fast, accelerating to 70 km / h.
The cassowary is the largest bird in Australia and New Guinea, and the second largest in the world. Having a height of 2 meters and a weight of 60 kg, she cannot fly, but she compensates for this shortcoming by the ability to accelerate to 50 km / h.
The largest flying bird is the wandering albatross, an inhabitant of the southern seas. Although the size of their body is not too impressive, however, the wingspan is truly huge, reaching 3.7 meters. In addition, the albatross is a nightmare for superstitious sailors who believe that the appearance of these birds portends a storm.
The heaviest of the flying birds can be considered the bustard, whose habitat is the steppes of Eurasia. Its weight reaches 20 kg with a height of 110 cm. The bustard flies due to the ability to masterfully catch air currents, which is facilitated by a wingspan of 190-250 cm. heavy liner.
The emperor penguin is the largest of the penguin family. Some individuals reach a height of 122 cm, and weigh 40-45 kg. Naturally, they live in the ice of Antarctica, but this species sometimes swims to the mainland.
