The largest

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

measured by mass is the

common ostrich The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...

(''Struthio camelus''), closely followed by the

Somali ostrich The Somali ostrich (''Struthio molybdophanes''), also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is a large flightless bird native to the Horn of Africa. It is one of two living species of ostriches, the other being the common ostrich. It was also previo ...

(''Struthio molybdophanes''). The Struthioniformes family are from the plains of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. A male ostrich can reach a height of and weigh over ,Largest flying animals/birds in The World/Universe AllTopTens.com
/ref> A mass of has been cited for the ostrich but no wild ostriches of this weight have been verified.Avian Medicine: Principles and Application
. avianmedicine.net

Ostrich egg The egg of the ostrich (genus ''Struthio'') is the largest of any living bird. The shell has a long history of use by humans as a container and for decorative artwork. The eggs are not commonly eaten. Biology The female common ostrich lays her f ...

s are the largest of any bird, weighing up to . The bird with the largest wingspan is the

wandering albatross The wandering albatross, snowy albatross, white-winged albatross or goonie (''Diomedea exulans'') is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the last species of albatross to be descr ...

(''Diomedea exulans'') of the Sub-Antarctic oceans. The largest dimensions found in this species are an approximate head-to-tail length of and a wingspan of .

Largest birds in history

The largest bird in the fossil record may be the extinct

elephant bird Elephant birds are members of the extinct ratite family Aepyornithidae, made up of flightless birds that once lived on the island of Madagascar. They are thought to have become extinct around 1000-1200 CE, probably as a result of human activity. ...

(''Vorombe'') of Madagascar, whose closest living relative is the

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

. Elephant birds exceeded in height, weighed over Wood, Gerald ''The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats'' (1983) and are estimated to have become extinct approximately 1,000 years ago. The ''

Dromornis stirtoni ''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if ...

'' of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, part of a 26,000-year-old group called mihirungs of the family

Dromornithidae Dromornithidae, known as mihirungs and informally as thunder birds or demon ducks, were a clade of large, flightless Australian birds of the Oligocene through Pleistocene Epochs. All are now extinct. They were long classified in Struthioniform ...

, were of similar proportions to the largest elephant birds. The largest carnivorous bird was ''

Brontornis ''Brontornis'' is an extinct genus of giant bird that inhabited Argentina during the Early to Middle Miocene. Its taxonomic position is highly controversial, with authors alternatively considering it to be a cariamiform, typically a phorusrhaci ...

'', an extinct flightless bird from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

which reached a weight of and a height of approximately . The tallest recorded bird was the

South Island giant moa The South Island giant moa (''Dinornis robustus'') is an extinct moa from the genus ''Dinornis.'' Context The moa were Ratite, ratites, flightless birds with a sternum without a Keel (bird anatomy), keel. They also had a distinctive palate. T ...

(''Dinornis robustus''), part of the moa family of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that went

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

around 1500 CE. This particular species of moa stood at tall but only weighed about half as much as a large elephant bird or mihirung due to its comparatively slender frame. The heaviest bird ever capable of flight was ''

Argentavis magnificens ''Argentavis magnificens'' was among the largest flying birds ever to exist. While it is still considered the heaviest flying bird of all time, ''Argentavis'' was likely surpassed in wingspan by '' Pelagornis sandersi'' which is estimated to have ...

'', the largest member of the extinct

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Teratornithidae Teratornithidae is an extinct family of very large birds of prey that lived in North and South America from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene. They include some of the largest known flying birds. Taxonomy Teratornithidae are related t ...

. The ''Argentavis'' was found in Miocene-aged fossil beds of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and had a wingspan up to , a length of up to , a height of up to and a body weight of at least . ''

Pelagornis sandersi ''Pelagornis sandersi'' is an extinct species of pseudotooth bird, whose fossil remains date from 25 million years ago, during the Chattian age of the Oligocene. The sole specimen of ''P. sandersi'' has a wingspan estimated between , giving i ...

'' is another contender for the largest-known flying bird ever, rivaling ''Argentavis'' with a wingspan of up to .

Largest extant birds

Table of heaviest extant bird species

The following table is a list of the heaviest extant bird species based on maximum reported or reliable mass, with the average weight is also given for comparison. These species are almost all

flightless Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the ...

, having denser bones and heavier bodies. Flightless birds comprise less than two percent of all extant bird species.

By families

Birds of prey (
Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...
)

New World vulture The New World vulture or condor family, Cathartidae, contains seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. The "New World" vultures were widespread ...

s are generally considered to belong to this order, although their inclusion is not accepted by all. If included, the largest species of this order, based on body weight and wingspan, is the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

(''Vultur gryphus'') of western South America. The Andean condor can reach a wingspan of and a weight of . *Excluding New World vultures, the largest extant species is the

Eurasian black vulture The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus'') is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of , ...

(''Aegypius monachus''). The Eurasian black vulture can attain a maximum weight of , a height of up to , and a wingspan of .Christie, David A. & Ferguson-Lee, James, ''Raptors of the World''. Princeton University Press (2006), Other vultures can be almost as large, with the

Himalayan vulture The Himalayan vulture (''Gyps himalayensis'') or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the two largest Old World vultures and true raptors. It is listed as Near T ...

(''Gyps himalayensis'') reaching lengths of up to due to its long neck. *The largest living member of this order, in terms of length and height, is the

secretarybird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller describe ...

(''Sagittarius serpentarius'') of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. It measures in height and in length. Its wingspan can reach and have a weight of . *The largest living

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

is a source of contention. The

harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle. It is the ...

(''Harpia harpyja'') of neotropical forests is often cited as the largest eagle, with captive female harpy eagles recording weights of up to . The

Steller's sea eagle Steller's sea eagle (''Haliaeetus pelagicus''), also known as Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle, is a very large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are r ...

(''Haliaeetus pelagicus'') of Asia's North Pacific, with unconfirmed weights of up to , and an average weight of , is regarded as the heaviest eagle. Less substantiated records indicate that the

may reach up to . The up to

Philippine eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

(''Pithecophaga jefferyi'') has the greatest length of any eagle. The harpy and Philippine eagles, due to having to navigate in deep forest, are relatively short-winged and do not exceed , respectively, in wingspan. The

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') is of marginally smaller wingspan, with the Himalayan subspecies recorded at . The

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Palearctic, Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diur ...

(''Haliaeetus albicilla'') measures in length with a wingspan. Its wingspan, with a midpoint of , is on average the largest of any eagle. The white-tailed eagle is sometimes considered the fourth-largest eagle in the world, and is on average the fourth-heaviest. The

martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...

(''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is the largest eagle in Africa, and the fifth-heaviest (on average) eagle in the world, with a length of , a weight of and a wingspan of . The longest wingspan of an eagle ever recorded was an Australian

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

(''Aquila audax'') at . The now extinct

Haast's eagle Haast's eagle (''Hieraaetus moorei'') is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Māori legend.aboriginal people in New Zealand, was by far the largest eagle known and perhaps the largest raptor ever. Adult female Haast's are estimated to have averaged up to in length, weighing up to , with a relatively short wingspan. Cygnus buccinator -Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Missouri, USA -flying-8

Cygnus buccinator -Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Missouri, USA -flying-8

*The largest of the accipitrine hawks is the

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

(''Accipiter gentilis'') of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. They range in size variably, but on average measure in length, have a wingspan of and weigh . The

Henst's goshawk Henst's goshawk (''Accipiter henstii'') is a species a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is a large, diurnal bird endemic to the island of Madagascar. It is an obligate forest species that occurs at very low densities on the island and ...

(''Accipiter henstii'') and

Meyer's goshawk Meyer's goshawk (''Accipiter meyerianus'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist ...

(''Accipiter meyerianus'') do rival it in terms of wing size and body mass. *Among the buteonine hawks, the largest species are the

ferruginous hawk The ferruginous hawk, (''Buteo regalis''), is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (''B. lagopus''). ...

(''Buteo regalis'') and the

upland buzzard The upland buzzard (''Buteo hemilasius'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. The largest species of the ''Buteo'' genus, this buzzard lives in mountainous grassy and rocky areas in areas of Central Asia, northern South Asia ...

(''Buteo hemilasius'') of North America and Asia respectively. The former can have a wingspan of , weigh and measure in length. The weight of the upland buzzard, which can be in the range of , broadly overlaps that of the ferruginous hawk, even though it is slightly larger at long and with a wingspan of . *The

swamp harrier The swamp harrier (''Circus approximans''), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier, Australasian harrier or swamp-hawk, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand it is also known as the harrier hawk ...

(''Circus approximans'') of

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

is believed to be the largest species of harrier, measuring long, having a wingspan of and weighing . *The largest species of

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

is the

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

(''Milvus milvus''). With a wingspan of , it measures in length and weighs .

Waterfowl (
Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
)

*The largest

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

species by average size is the

trumpeter swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 ...

(''Cygnus buccinator'') of Northern North America, which can reach a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of . The heaviest single waterfowl ever recorded was a cob (''Cygnus olor'') from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

which weighed , and was allegedly too heavy to take flight. *The largest species of goose is the

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

(''Branta canadensis''), more specifically the subspecies known as the

giant Canada goose The giant Canada goose (''Branta canadensis maxima'') is the largest subspecies of Canada goose, on average weighing in at 5 kg (11 pounds). It is found in central North America. These geese were at one point considered extinct, but were later r ...

(''Branta canadensis maxima''). Individuals can reach more than in weight. *The largest 'duck' species is the

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United Sta ...

(''Cairina moschata'') of the Americas. Males can weigh from and can measure up to . However, its genus is now considered to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

with the species currently being placed in the subfamily

Tadorninae The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. This group is largely tropical or Southern Hemisphere in distribution, w ...

(shelducks and shelgeese). If so, the largest species of the true ducks or dabbling ducks (

Anatinae The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae (swans, geese and ducks). Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a youn ...

) is the

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

(''Anas platyrhynchos''). They can measure in length, have a wingspan of and a weight of .

Swifts and allies (
Apodiformes Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodi ...
)

*The largest species of Apodiformes is the white-naped swift (''Streptoprocne semicollaris''), endemic to southern Mexico, and the purple needletail (''Hirundapus celebensis''), of the Philippine islands. Both reach weights of up to , lengths of up to and wingspans as long as . *Traditionally included in this order, by far the largest

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

species is the

giant hummingbird The giant hummingbird (''Patagona gigas'') is the only member of the genus ''Patagona'' and the largest member of the hummingbird family, weighing and having a wingspan of approximately and length of . This is approximately the same length as ...

(''Patagona gigas'') of the Andes Mountains. "Giant" is a relative term among the hummingbirds, the smallest-bodied variety of birds, with the giant hummingbird species weighing up to with a length of . *The longest hummingbird species, indeed the longest in the order, is the adult male

black-tailed trainbearer The black-tailed trainbearer (''Lesbia victoriae'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found between 2500 and 3800m in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest ...

(''Lesbia victoriae''), which can measure up to . The majority of this length is due to the hummingbird's extreme tail streamers. Another size champion among hummingbirds is the sword-billed hummingbird, a fairly large species of which approximately half of its length derives from its bill. This is by far the largest bill-to-body-size ratio of any bird. Nyctibius cf grandis Whaldener Endo cropped

Nyctibius cf grandis Whaldener Endo cropped

Nightjars and allies (
Caprimulgiformes Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...
)

*The largest species of this order of nocturnal birds is the neotropical

great potoo The great potoo (''Nyctibius grandis'') is the largest potoo species and is widely distributed in Central and South America. Much like owls, this species is nocturnal. It preys on large insects and small vertebrates, which it captures in sallies ...

(''Nycitbius grandis''), which can grow to a weight of and a height of . Heavier Caprimulgiformes have been recorded in juvenile specimens of the Australian

tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird, often mistaken for an owl, due to its nocturnal habits and similar colour ...

(''Podargus strigoides''), which can weigh up to . Other species nearly as large as the potoo are the

Papuan frogmouth The Papuan frogmouth (''Podargus papuensis'') is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. Taxonomy The species was originally described by zoologist Jean René Constant Quoy and naturalist Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830. The three subspeci ...

(''Podargus papuensis'') of New Guinea and the neotropic, cave-dwelling

oilbird The oilbird (''Steatornis caripensis''), locally known as the , is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is the only species in the genus ''Steatornis'', the family Steatornith ...

(''Steatornis caripensis''), both growing as large as . The wingspan of the great potoo and the oilbird can be more than , the largest of the order. *The largest species of the

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

family, the

great eared nightjar The great eared nightjar (''Lyncornis macrotis'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This very large nightjar has long barred wings, a barred tail and long ear-tuft ...

(''Eurostopodus macrotis'') of East Asia, is of smaller proportions. Great eared nightjars can reach in weight and in height.

Shorebirds (
Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water an ...
)

*The largest species in this diverse order is the

great black-backed gull The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on t ...

(''Larus marinus'') of the North Atlantic, attaining a height as large as , a wingspan of and a weight of up to . The

glaucous gull The glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus'') is a large gull, the second-largest gull in the world. It breeds in Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and winters south to shores of the Holarctic. The genus name is from Latin ''larus'', which a ...

(''L. hyperboreus'') is smaller on average than the black-back but has been weighed as heavy as . * Among the most prominent family of "small waders", the

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

s reach their maximum size in the

Far Eastern curlew The Far Eastern curlew (''Numenius madagascariensis'') is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown ...

(''Numenius madagascariensis'') at up to in length and across the wings. The more widespread

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred t ...

(''N. arquata'') can weigh up to . *Less variable in size, the largest species of

plover Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. Description There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...

s is the Australasian masked lapwing (''Vanellus miles'') which grows up to long with a wingspan and a weight of . The widely distributed

Caspian tern The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...

(''Hydroprogne caspia''), is relatively large and heavily built. Caspians can range up to in weight, with a wingspan and a length of . *The largest extant

alcid An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

is the sub-Arctic

thick-billed murre The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (''Uria lomvia'') is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies ''Uria lomvia arra'' i ...

(''Uria lomvia''), which can weigh up to , with a length of and a wingspan of . However, until its extinction, the flightless

great auk The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...

(''Pinguinus impennis'') of the North Atlantic was both the largest alcid and the second-largest member of the order. Great auks could range up to and tall. *''

Miomancalla howardi ''Miomancalla'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric flightless alcids that lived on the Pacific coast of today's California in the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The ...

'' was the largest charadriiform of all time, weighing approximately (?) more than the Great Auk with a height of approximately . Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) female

Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) female

Herons and allies (
Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...
)

*The longest-bodied and tallest species in this order is the

saddle-billed stork The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'') is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to ...

of Africa (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis''), which often exceeds tall and has a wingspan of up to . Reaching a similar height but more heavily built among the

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

s are the neotropical

jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has been reported as far north as Mississippi. ...

(''Jabiru mycteria''), the Asian greater adjutant (''Leptoptilos dubius'') and the African

marabou stork The marabou stork (''Leptoptilos crumenifer'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae native to sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites. It is someti ...

(''L. crumeniferus''), all of which weigh up to . The greater adjutant and marabou nearly equal the Andean condor in maximum wingspan, with all three birds believed to reach or exceed a wingspan of . Standing up to , with a wingspan of up to and a weight up to , the African

goliath heron The Goliath heron (''Ardea goliath''), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia. Description This i ...

(''Ardea goliath'') is the largest of the herons and egrets. Juvenile

white-bellied heron The white-bellied heron (''Ardea insignis'') also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is a large heron species living in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in northeast India and Bhutan to northern Myanmar. It inhabits un ...

(''A. insignis'') have been reported to weigh up to with heights of . *Many of the largest flying birds in the fossil record may have been members of the Ciconiiformes. The heaviest flying bird ever, ''

'', is part of a group, the

teratorn Teratornithidae is an extinct family of very large birds of prey that lived in North and South America from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene. They include some of the largest known flying birds. Taxonomy Teratornithidae are related ...

s, that is considered an ally of the New World vultures. *The largest ibis is the

giant ibis The giant ibis (''Thaumatibis gigantea''), the only species in the monotypic genus ''Thaumatibis'', is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is confined to northern Cambodia, with a few birds surviving in extreme southern Laos ...

(''Thaumatibis gigantea''). Adults can grow to long, with a standing height of up to and are estimated to weigh approximately . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

is , the tarsus is and the culmen is . The

crested ibis The crested ibis (''Nipponia nippon''), also known as the Japanese crested ibis, Asian crested ibis or toki, is a large (up to long), white-plumaged ibis of pine forests, native to eastern Asia. Its head is partially bare, showing red skin, and ...

(''Nipponia nippon'') of Japan is as large as in height and in length.

Mousebirds ( Coliiformes)

*The largest mousebird species, the

speckled mousebird The speckled mousebird (''Colius striatus'') is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Taxonomy The speckled mousebird was formally described i ...

(''Colius striatus''), weighs with a height of over . Bristol

Pigeons (
Columbiformes Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
)

*The largest species of the pigeon/dove complex is the

Victoria crowned pigeon The Victoria crowned pigeon (''Goura victoria'') is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red irises. It is part of a genus ( ''Goura'') of four unique, very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to t ...

(''Goura victoria'') of Northern New Guinea. Some exceptionally large Victoria crowned pigeons have reached and . The largest arboreal pigeon is the

Marquesan imperial pigeon The Marquesan imperial pigeon (''Ducula galeata''), also known as the Nukuhiva pigeon or Upe, is a pigeon which is endemic to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. This pigeon is only found in some valleys in the western part of ...

(''Ducula galeata''), which can grow approximately across the wings and can weigh . *The largest pigeons and doves known to have existed were the

dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...

(''Raphus cucullatus'') and the

Rodrigues solitaire The Rodrigues solitaire (''Pezophaps solitaria'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most closely relate ...

(''Pezophaps solitaria''). Both flightless species may have exceeded in height. The dodo is frequently cited as the largest-ever pigeon, potentially weighing as much as , although recent estimates have indicated that an average wild dodo weighed much less at approximately .

Rollers, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, motmots, and todies (
Coraciiformes The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful birds including the kingfishers, the bee-eaters, the rollers, the motmots, and the todies. They generally have syndactyly, with three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 & 4 fused at their base) ...
)

*The largest kingfisher is the

giant kingfisher The giant kingfisher (''Megaceryle maxima'') is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert, other than the arid southwest. Taxonomy The first Species description, ...

(''Megaceryle maxima''), at up to long and in weight. The common Australian species, the

laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...

(''Dacelo novaeguineae''), may be heavier still, as individuals exceeding are not uncommon. A kookaburra's wingspan can range up to .

Hornbills, hoopoe, and wood-hoopoes (Order
Bucerotiformes Bucerotiformes is an order of birds that contains the hornbills, ground hornbills, hoopoes and wood hoopoes. These birds were previously classified as members of Coraciiformes. The clade is distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and Melanesia. ...
)

*The largest species of Coraciiformes is the

southern ground hornbill The southern ground hornbill (''Bucorvus leadbeateri''; formerly known as ''Bucorvus cafer'') is one of two species of ground hornbill, both of which are found solely within Africa, and is the largest species in the hornbill order worldwide. It ...

(''Bucorvus leadbeateri''), which can reach weights of up to and grow as long as . Several arboreal, Asian hornbills can also grow very large, with the

great hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

(''Buceros bicornis'') weighing up to , and the

helmeted hornbill The helmeted hornbill (''Rhinoplax vigil'') is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque (helmetlike structure on the head) accounts for some 11% of its 3 ...

(''Rhinoplax vigil'') measuring as much as in total length. The larger hornbills have a wingspan of up to .

Cuckoos, coucals and roadrunners (
Cuculiformes Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separa ...
)

*The largest of the cuckoos is the

channel-billed cuckoo The channel-billed cuckoo (''Scythrops novaehollandiae'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Scythrops''.Payne (2005), p. 380. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest ...

(''Scythrops novaehollandiae''), which can range up to a weight of , a wingspan and a length of .

Falcons (
Falconiformes The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, the other bird of prey families Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagitt ...
)

*Many authorities now support the split of falcons from the

Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...

, despite similar adaptations, due to the genetic evidence showing they are not closely related. The largest species of falcon is the

gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a reside ...

(''Falco rusticolus''). Large females of this species can range up to , span across the wings and measure long. Peacock

Gamebirds (
Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...
)

*The heaviest member of this order is the North American

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...

(''Meleagris gallopavo''). The largest specimen ever recorded was shot in 2015, and weighed . The heaviest

domesticated turkey The domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus) is a large fowl, one of the two species in the genus '' Meleagris'' and the same species as the wild turkey. Although turkey domestication was thought to have occurred in central Mesoamerica a ...

on record weighed . *The longest gamebirds species, if measured from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail coverts, is the male

green peafowl The green peafowl or Indonesian peafowl (''Pavo muticus'') is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2009 because the global population has been declining r ...

(''Pavo muticus'') of Southeast Asia at a length of up to , with two-thirds of the length being made up by the tail coverts. It has a relatively large wingspan for a gamebird, spanning as much as across the wings. *The largest member of the

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...

family is the Eurasian

western capercaillie The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...

(''Tetrao urogallus''), weighing up to with a length of . *A prehistoric, flightless family, sometimes called (incorrectly) "giant megapodes" (''

Sylviornis ''Sylviornis'', also known by its native name of Du, is an extinct genus of large, flightless bird that was endemic to the islands of New Caledonia in the Western Pacific. It is considered to constitute one of two genera in the extinct family ...

'') of New Caledonia were the most massive galliformes ever, with lengths of up to weights up to approximately .

Loons (
Gaviiformes Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia (Europe, Asia and debatably Africa), though prehistori ...
)

*The largest species on average is the

yellow-billed loon The yellow-billed loon (''Gavia adamsii''), also known as the white-billed diver, is the largest member of the loon or diver family. Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage ...

(''Gavia adamsii'') of the Arctic, at up to and . One exceptionally large North American

Great northern diver The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or ...

(''Gavia immer'') was weighed at , heavier than any recorded yellow-billed loon. Wingspans of the largest loons can reach . Ardeotis kori portrait

Cranes and allies (
Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
)

*The males of the Eurasian

great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European po ...

(''Otis tarda'') and the African

kori bustard The kori bustard (''Ardeotis kori'') is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of the four species ( ...

(''Ardeotis kori'') are the heaviest birds capable of flight, averaging up to and weighing 2 to 3 times as much as their female counterparts. It is not resolved if one of these species is larger than the other, but both can reach a weight of at least and measure up to long. Some kori bustards have been reported from to even , but all such reports are unverified or dubious. *The tallest flying bird on earth, also represented in the

Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...

, is the sarus crane (''Grus antigone'') of Southern Asia and Australia, which can reach a height of . Heavier cranes are reported in other species, the

red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...

(''Grus japonensis'') and the

Siberian crane The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their ...

(''G. leucogeranus''), both from Northeast Asia and both at up to , as opposed to a top weight of in the sarus. Wingspan in both the largest cranes and the largest bustards can range up to . *The most species-rich family in this order, the

rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

, reaches their largest size in the bulky

takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...

(''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') of New Zealand, an endangered species that can weigh up to and measure long. The aforementioned "terror bird", '' Brontornis burmeisteri'', has traditionally been classified as a member of this order, although this may not be an accurate classification. Thick-billed-Ravens

Songbirds (
Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
)

*The passerine or songbird order comprises more than half of all bird species, and are known for their generally small size, their strong voices and their frequent perching.

Corvid Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rook (bird), rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcracker (bird), nutcrackers. In coll ...

s are the largest of passerines, particularly the large races of the

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least e ...

(''Corvus corax'') and the Northeast African

thick-billed raven The thick-billed raven (''Corvus crassirostris''), a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family, and indeed the largest of the passerines. The thick-billed raven a ...

(''C. crassirostris''). Large ravens can weigh , attain a wingspan and measure long. *The closest non-corvid contender to largest size is the Australian

superb lyrebird The superb lyrebird (''Menura novaehollandiae'') is an Australian songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is renowned for its elaborate tail and courtship displays, and its excell ...

(''Menura novaehollandiae''), which can reach a length of , much of it comprised by their spectacular tail, and a weight of . *The largest species in the most species-rich passerine family,

Tyrannidae The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most dive ...

or tyrant-flycatchers, is the great shrike-tyrant of the South Andes (''Agriornis lividus''), at and , although the

fork-tailed flycatcher The fork-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus savana'') is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for their distinguishingly long, forked tail, fork-tailed flycatchers are ...

(''Tyrannus savana''), to , is longer thanks to its extreme tail. *The namesake of the previous family, the

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Norther ...

s, reaches its maximum size in the

blue whistling thrush The blue whistling thrush (''Myophonus caeruleus'') is a whistling thrush that is found in the mountains of Central Asia, South Asia, China and Southeast Asia. It is known for its loud human-like whistling song at dawn and dusk. The widely distri ...

of India Southeast Asia (''Myophonus caeruleus''), if it is indeed a proper member of the family, at up to and a length of . * Closely related to the Old World flycatchers, the thrush family's largest representative is the

Great thrush The great thrush (''Turdus fuscater'') is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It is considered as the largest thrush in South America. The great thrush's size distinguishes it ...

of South America (''Turdus fuscater''), at up to and . *The largest bird family in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

is the

Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the ci ...

s. As previously classified these warblers could get fairly large, up to and in the

striated grassbird The striated grassbird (''Megalurus palustris'') is an "Old World warbler" species in the family Locustellidae. It was formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is now the only species placed in the genus ''Megalurus''. It is found in Banglade ...

of Southeast Asia (''Megalurus palustris''). The Old World warblers have been split into several families, however, which leaves the

barred warbler The barred warbler (''Curruca nisoria'') is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa.Del ...

of central Eurasia (''Sylvia nisoria''), up to and , as the largest "true warbler". *Not to be confused with the previous family, the largest of the well-known

New World warbler The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most ...

s is the aberrant

yellow-breasted chat The yellow-breasted chat (''Icteria virens'') is a large songbird found in North America, and is the only member of the family Icteriidae. It was once a member of the New World warbler family, but in 2017, the American Ornithological Society move ...

(''Icteria virens''), which can exceptionally measure up to and weigh . *Another large family is the

bulbul The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical As ...

s, the largest of which is the south Asian

straw-headed bulbul The straw-headed bulbul (''Pycnonotus zeylanicus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or ...

(''Pycnonotus zeylanicus''), to and . The diverse, large family of babblers can reach and in the south Asian

greater necklaced laughingthrush The greater necklaced laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus pectoralis'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. It is introduced to the U ...

(''Garrulax pectoralis''). *The familiar domesticated species, the

Java sparrow The Java sparrow (''Padda oryzivora''), also known as Java finch, Java rice sparrow or Java rice bird, is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali and Bawean in Indonesia. It is a popular cage bird, ...

(''Padda oryzivora''), is (in the wild) the largest

estrildid Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. D ...

, at up to and . The largest

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

, perhaps the most diverse

n bird family, is the crow honeyeater (''Gymnomyza aubryana''), at up to and . The largest of the "true finches" is the

collared grosbeak The collared grosbeak (''Mycerobas affinis'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. Its range encompasses the northern regions of the Indian Subcontinent, mainly the Himalayas, along with some adjoining regions. It is found in Bhuta ...

(''Mycerobas affinis'') of central and south Asia at up to and . *Among the largest bird families, the emberizids, reaches its largest size in the Abert's towhee (''Pipilo aberti'') of Southwest United States and north Mexico at up to and . *Closely related to the previous family is the

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

s, which can range up to in the Andean-forest-dwelling

white-capped tanager The white-capped tanager (''Sericossypha albocristata'') is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Sericossypha ''. It is the heaviest but not the longest species of tanager, at a weight of 11 ...

(''Sericossypha albocristata''). Another species-rich

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

family is the

ovenbirds Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found from Mexico and Central to southern South America. They form the family Furnariidae. This is a large family containing around 315 species and 70 genera. The oven ...

, the largest of which, the great rufous woodcreeper (''Xiphocolaptes major'') of the Amazonian rainforest, can weigh up to and . The specialized

antbird The antbirds are a large passerine bird family (biology), family, Thamnophilidae, found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are List of antbirds, more than 230 species, known variously as an ...

family can range up to and in the giant antshrike (''Batara cinerea''). Among the most variably sized passerine families is the

icterid Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

s. *The largest icterid is the

olive oropendola The olive oropendola (''Psarocolius bifasciatus'') is the largest member of the icterid family and rivals the Amazonian umbrellabird as the largest passerine bird in South America. It is sometimes placed in the genus '' Gymnostinops'' instead of ...

(''Psarocolius bifasciatus''), in which males can range up to and . The latter species competes with the similarly sized

Amazonian umbrellabird The Amazonian umbrellabird (''Cephalopterus ornatus'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae native to the Amazon basin with a separate population on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The male bird is entirely black, with a black crest a ...

(''Cephalopterus ornatus'') as the largest passerine in

ComputerHotline - Pelecanus crispus (by) (1)

Cormorants and allies (
Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...
)

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

s rank amongst the largest flying birds. The largest species of pelican is the Eurasian

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspan ...

(''Pelecanus crispus''), which can attain a length of and a body weight of . The

great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

(''P. onocrotalus'') of Europe and Africa is almost as large. The

Australian pelican The Australian pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It ...

(''P. conspicillatus'') is slightly smaller but has the largest bill of any bird, at as much as long. A large pelican can attain a wingspan of , second only to the

great albatross The great albatrosses are seabirds in the genus ''Diomedea'' in the albatross family. The genus ''Diomedea'' formerly included all albatrosses except the sooty albatrosses, but in 1996 the genus was split, with the mollymawks and the North Paci ...

es among all living birds.Harrison, Peter, ''Seabirds: An Identification Guide''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1991), *The largest of the

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

s is the

flightless cormorant The flightless cormorant (''Nannopterum harrisi''), also known as the Galapagos cormorant, is a cormorant endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only known cormorant t ...

of the Galapagos Islands (''Phalacrocorax harrisi''), at up to and , although large races in the

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

(''P. carbo'') can weigh up to . The

spectacled cormorant The spectacled cormorant or Pallas's cormorant (''Urile perspicillatus'') is an extinct marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabited Bering Island and possibly other places in the Komandorski Islands and the nearby coast of Ka ...

of the North Pacific (''P. perspicillatus''), which became extinct around 1850, was larger still, averaging around and . *The widely distributed

magnificent frigatebird The magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of and wingspan of it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, betw ...

is of note for having an extremely large wingspan, up to , for its relatively light body, at up to only . *

Pelagornithidae The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating ...

or pseudotooth birds included several species that were behind only ''

'' in size among all flying birds. Characterized by the tooth-like protrusions along their bills, this unique family has been variously allied with the

Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...

tubenoses Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are oft ...

, large waders and even

. Their true linkage to extant birds remains in question, though pelecaniformes are the group most regularly considered related. Some of the largest pseudotooth birds have included, ''

Osteodontornis ''Osteodontornis'' is an extinct seabird genus. It contains a single named species, ''Osteodontornis orri'' (Orr's bony-toothed bird, in literal translation of its scientific name), which was described quite exactly one century after the first sp ...

'' of the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

from the North Pacific, ''

Gigantornis eaglesomei ''Gigantornis eaglesomei'' is a very large prehistoric bird described from a fragmentary specimen from the Eocene of Nigeria. It was originally described as a representative of the albatross family, Diomedeidae, but was later referred to the pseu ...

'', from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

era in what is now

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and ''

Dasornis ''Dasornis'' is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty. Alm ...

'', from Eocene era Europe. A new, unnamed species has been discovered which may outsize even these giants. Superficially

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

-like, each of these pseudotooth species may have attained lengths of and wingspans of at least . Body mass in these slender birds was probably only up to around .

Tropicbirds (
Phaethontiformes The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic. Several fossil genera have been described. The tropicbirds were tradit ...
)

*The largest tropicbirds is the

red-billed tropicbird The red-billed tropicbird (''Phaethon aethereus'') is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wi ...

(''Phaethon aethereus''). The adult is a slender, mainly white bird, 48 cm long, excluding the central tail feathers which double the total length, and a one-meter wingspan.

Flamingos (
Phoenicopteriformes Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil rec ...
)

*The largest flamingo is the

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

(''Phoenicopterus roseus'') of Eurasia and Africa. One of the tallest flying birds in existence when standing upright (exceeded only by the tallest cranes), this species typically weighs and stands up to tall. At maximum, a male can weigh up to and stand as high as . Wingspan is relatively small in flamingos, ranging up to . Ramphastos toco -Birdworld, Farnham, Surrey, England-8a

Ramphastos toco -Birdworld, Farnham, Surrey, England-8a

Woodpeckers and allies (
Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes , the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of ...
)

*The largest species of this order is the

toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

(''Ramphastos toco'') of the neotropic forest. Large specimens of this toucan can weigh to and , at which size the beak alone can measure approximately .Short, Lester & Horne, Jennifer, ''Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides (Bird Families of the World)''. Oxford University Press (2002), *Until the 20th century, the largest woodpecker was the

imperial woodpecker The imperial woodpecker (''Campephilus imperialis'') is a woodpecker species endemic to Mexico. If it is not extinct, it is the world's largest woodpecker species, at long. Researchers have discovered that the imperial woodpecker has slow climb ...

(''Campephilus imperialis'') of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, with a length of up to . This species is generally believed to have gone extinct following habitat destruction and hunting. The closely related

ivory-billed woodpecker The ivory-billed woodpecker (''Campephilus principalis'') is a possibly extinct woodpecker that is native to the bottomland hardwood forests and temperate coniferous forests of the Southern United States and Cuba. Habitat destruction and hunting ...

(''Campephilus principalis'') of the Southeast United States and Cuba approached similar sizes at up to in length, with a wingspan of and a mass of at least . Despite possibilities that it has survived in some deep swamp forests in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the ivory-billed is also generally considered to have gone extinct. The

great slaty woodpecker The great slaty woodpecker (''Mulleripicus pulverulentus'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A unique and basically unmistakable bird, it is the largest species of woodpeck ...

(''Mulleripicus pulverulentus'') of southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

is the largest woodpecker certain to exist, with a weight of up to and a length of up to . *Less well-known than the woodpeckers and toucans,

barbets Barbet may refer to: * Barbet (dog), a dog breed * Various birds in the infraorder Ramphastides ** African barbet, part of the bird family Lybiidae ** New World barbet, the bird family Capitonidae ** Asian barbet The Asian barbets are a family ...

can range up to and in the

great barbet The great barbet (''Psilopogon virens'') is an Asian barbet native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests up to altitude. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004 because o ...

(''Megalaima virens''). *The largest jacamar is the

great jacamar The great jacamar (''Jacamerops aureus'') is a species of bird in the family Galbulidae. It is placed in the monotypic genus ''Jacamerops''. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Surin ...

(''Jacamerops aureus''). It measures in length and weighs between .Jacamaraçu
''WikiAves''.

Grebes ( Podicipediformes)

*The largest species of grebe is the

great grebe The great grebe (''Podiceps major'') is the largest species of grebe in the world. A disjunct population exists in northwestern Peru, while the main distribution is from extreme southeastern Brazil to Patagonia and central Chile. The population f ...

(''Podiceps major''). It can reach a length of , with a wingspan of and a weight of over . 070226 wandering albatross off Kaikoura 3

Tubenoses (
Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are of ...
)

*The largest species of Procellariiformes is the

(''Diomedea exulans'') of the sub-Antarctic oceans, which has the largest wingspan of any living bird. The maximum dimensions of this species are a length of and a wingspan of . Unverified specimens have been reported to measure . Immature wandering albatrosses have weighed as much as at the time of their first flights, with the maximum reported weight of adults being . *The

Southern royal albatross The southern royal albatross or toroa, (''Diomedea epomophora'') is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above , it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent stu ...

(''Diomedea epomophora'') is slightly lesser in length, wingspan and weight. *The largest procellarids is the

southern giant petrel The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant pet ...

(''Macronectes giganteus''). It can reach a body length of 1 m (39 in), with a wingspan of 2.1 m (83 in) and a weight of 8 kg (17.6 lb).

Hoatzin ( Opisthocomiformes)

Hoatzin The hoatzin ( ) or hoactzin ( ), (''Opisthocomus hoazin''), is the only species in the order Opisthocomiformes. It is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South Ameri ...

(''Opisthocomus hoazin''), the only member of its order, is a

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

-sized South American bird, with a total length of and a maximum weight of . Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus-1cp

Parrots ( Psittaciformes)

*The largest parrot by length and wingspan is the endangered

hyacinth macaw The hyacinth macaw (''Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus''), or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter it is longer tha ...

(''Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus'') of the neotropic lowlands, reaching a length of nearly with a wingspan of and weighing as little as . The heaviest parrot is the nearly extinct kakapo (''Strigops habroptilus''), which is part of the

New Zealand parrot The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae,Nestoridae and Strigopidae are described in the same article, Bonaparte, C.L. (1849) ''Conspectus Systematis Ornithologiae''. Therefore, under rules of the ICZN, the first reviser determines priority, w ...

family. The flightless kakapo does not exceed in length, but weighs up to . *The largest

parakeet A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple Genus, genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflec ...

is the

Alexandrine parakeet The Alexandrine parakeet (''Psittacula eupatria''), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittaculidae. It is named after Alexander the Great, who transported numerous birds from Pun ...

(''Palaeornis eupatoria''), reaching lengths of up to 60 centimetres and a mass of 250 grams. *The largest species in the

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the ord ...

family is the Australasian

palm cockatoo The palm cockatoo (''Probosciger aterrimus''), also known as the goliath cockatoo or great black cockatoo, is a large smoky-grey or black parrot of the cockatoo family native to New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula. It has a very l ...

(''Probosciger aterrimus''), at up to long with a weight of .

Sandgrouse (
Pterocliformes Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...
)

Black-bellied sandgrouse The black-bellied sandgrouse (''Pterocles orientalis'') is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family. The nominate race breeds in Iberia, northwest Africa, the Canary Islands, Turkey, Iran, Cyprus and Israel. The eastern form ''P. o. arenar ...

(''Pterocles orientalis'') is the largest sandgrouse, with a maximum size of and . Aptenodytes forsteri -Snow Hill Island, Antarctica -adults and juvenile-8

Aptenodytes forsteri -Snow Hill Island, Antarctica -adults and juvenile-8

Penguins (
Sphenisciformes Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...
)

*The largest species of Sphenisciformes is the

emperor penguin The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of th ...

(''Aptenodytes forsteri'') of the Antarctic, with a maximum height of and a weight of . The next largest living species is the

king penguin The king penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'') is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: ''A. p. patagonicus'' and ''A. p. halli''; ''patagonicus'' i ...

, which grows to a maximum of in height and in weight. Now extinct, ''

Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi ''Anthropornis'' is a genus of giant penguin that lived 45-33 million years ago, during the Late Eocene and the earliest part of the Oligocene.Myrcha, A., Jadwiszczak, P., Tambussi, C.P., Noriega, J.I., Gazdzicki, A., Tatur, A., and Valle, R.A ...

'', is believed to have reached a height of and a weight of up to . Uhu-muc

Owls ( Strigiformes)

*The most massive owl is certainly either the

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...

(''Bubo bubo'') or the endangered and similarly sized

Blakiston's fish owl Blakiston's fish owl (''Bubo blakistoni''), the largest living species of owl, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle-owls which specialize in hunting in riparian areas. It is native to China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. This species is a par ...

(''Bubo blakistoni'') of coastal Russia and Japan. Record-sized specimens of both species have weighed approximately and measured over long. In either species, the wingspan can range up to .''A Guide to the Owls of the World'' by Konig, Weick & Becking. Yale University Press (1999), Longer still, but not as massive as the previous species (never more than in weight), a large female

great gray owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in th ...

(''Strix nebulosa'') from the northern boreal forest can range up to . *The largest of the barn or masked owl family is the

Tasmanian masked owl The Tasmanian masked owl (''Tyto novaehollandiae castanops'') is a bird in the barn owl family Tytonidae that is endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest subspecies of the Australian masked owl, the largest ''Tyto'' ...

(''Tyto novaehollandiae castanops''), which weighs up to and measures up to . The largest owl known to have existed was '' Ornimegalonyx oteroi'' of Cuba, a uniquely

cursorial A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often u ...

owl. The giant bird was estimated to stand over on the ground and to weigh at least . Tao001 edit crop

Ratites (
Struthioniformes Struthioniformes is an order of birds with only a single extant family, Struthionidae, containing the ostriches. Several other extinct families are known, spanning across the Northern Hemisphere, from the Early Eocene to the early Pliocene, includ ...
)

*The largest ratite is the

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

(''Struthio camelus''), from the plains of

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

. A large male ostrich can reach a height of and weigh over . A mass of has been cited for the ostrich but no wild ostriches of this weight have been verified. Eggs laid by the ostrich are the largest in the world, weighing . The

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

(''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') of Australia reaches at the shoulder with a full height of . In length measured from the bill to the tail, emus range from . The

southern cassowary The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf c ...

(''Casuarius casuarius'') from Australia and Papua New Guinea has a height of . The

greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). One of two sp ...

(''Rhea americana'') from South America weighs up to and often measures long from beak to tail with a height of approximately . *The largest bird in the fossil record may be the extinct

s (''Vorombe/Aepyornis'') of Madagascar, which were related to the ostrich. They exceeded in height and in weight. The last of the elephant birds became extinct approximately 1000 years ago. *The tallest bird ever was the

(''Dinornis robustus''), part of the moa family of

that went

about 500 years ago. The moa stood up to tall, and weighed approximately half as much as a large elephant bird or mihirung due to its comparatively slender frame.

Tinamous ( Tinamiformes)

*The largest species of

tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...

, a group of chunky, elusive ground-birds from

forests, is the

grey tinamou The grey tinamou (''Tinamus tao'') is a type of ground bird native to South America. Four subspecies are recognised. Taxonomy All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. All ratites evolved from prehis ...

(''Tinamus tao'') of western South America. It can reach a weight over and length of over .Davies, Stephen, ''Ratites and Tinamous''. Oxford University Press (2002),

Trogons (
Trogoniformes The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Earl ...
)

*The

resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

(''Pharomachrus mocinno'') of the

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

of Central America is the largest

trogon The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Early E ...

, though a few other quetzals approach similar sizes. It can weigh more than and, in females and non-breeding or immature males, they can measure up to from the head to the tail. Upon developing tail streamers, adult males can reach lengths of up to . Johnsgard, Paul A., ''Trogons and Quetzals of the World''. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (2000),

References

{{reflist, 2

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Lists of birds

Largest birds in history

Largest extant birds

Table of heaviest extant bird species

By families

Birds of prey (Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...)

Waterfowl (Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...)

Swifts and allies (Apodiformes Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodi ...)

Nightjars and allies (Caprimulgiformes Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...)

Shorebirds (Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water an ...)

Herons and allies (Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...)

Mousebirds ( Coliiformes)

Pigeons (Columbiformes Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...)

Cuckoos, coucals and roadrunners (Cuculiformes Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separa ...)

Falcons (Falconiformes The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, the other bird of prey families Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagitt ...)

Gamebirds (Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...)

Loons (Gaviiformes Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia (Europe, Asia and debatably Africa), though prehistori ...)

Cranes and allies (Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...)

Songbirds (Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...)

Cormorants and allies (Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...)

Tropicbirds (Phaethontiformes The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic. Several fossil genera have been described. The tropicbirds were tradit ...)

Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil rec ...)

Woodpeckers and allies (Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes , the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of ...)

Grebes ( Podicipediformes)

Tubenoses (Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are of ...)

Hoatzin ( Opisthocomiformes)

Parrots ( Psittaciformes)

Sandgrouse (Pterocliformes Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...)

Penguins (Sphenisciformes Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...)

Owls ( Strigiformes)

Ratites (Struthioniformes Struthioniformes is an order of birds with only a single extant family, Struthionidae, containing the ostriches. Several other extinct families are known, spanning across the Northern Hemisphere, from the Early Eocene to the early Pliocene, includ ...)

Tinamous ( Tinamiformes)

Trogons (Trogoniformes The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Earl ...)

References

Birds of prey (
Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...
)

Waterfowl (
Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
)

Swifts and allies (
Apodiformes Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodi ...
)

Nightjars and allies (
Caprimulgiformes Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...
)

Shorebirds (
Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water an ...
)

Herons and allies (
Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...
)

Pigeons (
Columbiformes Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
)

Cuckoos, coucals and roadrunners (
Cuculiformes Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separa ...
)

Falcons (
Falconiformes The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, the other bird of prey families Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagitt ...
)

Gamebirds (
Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...
)

Loons (
Gaviiformes Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia (Europe, Asia and debatably Africa), though prehistori ...
)

Cranes and allies (
Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
)

Songbirds (
Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
)

Cormorants and allies (
Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...
)

Tropicbirds (
Phaethontiformes The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic. Several fossil genera have been described. The tropicbirds were tradit ...
)

Flamingos (
Phoenicopteriformes Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil rec ...
)

Woodpeckers and allies (
Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes , the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of ...
)

Tubenoses (
Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are of ...
)

Sandgrouse (
Pterocliformes Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...
)

Penguins (
Sphenisciformes Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...
)

Ratites (
Struthioniformes Struthioniformes is an order of birds with only a single extant family, Struthionidae, containing the ostriches. Several other extinct families are known, spanning across the Northern Hemisphere, from the Early Eocene to the early Pliocene, includ ...
)

Trogons (
Trogoniformes The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Earl ...
)