The common ostrich (Struthio camelus), is the largest bird in the world. There are approximately 10,000 species of birds present on the earth and they are rages from different sizes and shapes from the small bee hummingbird to the largest ostrich.
Ostrich belongs to the infra-class Palaeognathae. It is the tallest and heaviest – around over 2 meters in height (and occasionally reaches 2.8 meters), and weighs up to 160 kg. At this size, the ostrich is a flightless bird, it is known as the fastest animal running on two legs because its run-up speed is much higher than other animals and the speed of birds is 69 km per hour.
A diverse group of flightless birds called ratites involved the emu, rheas, and kiwi. Both the common ostrich and the Somali ostrich are two living species of ostrich. They are large flightless birds of Africa that lay the largest eggs compared to any living land Species. They are the fastest birds on earth as they can run at speeds of up to 70 km/h.
List of Largest Birds in the World
Here is the list of the largest birds in the world in 2024:
1. Common Ostrich (2.7 meters tall and 130 kilograms)
Common Ostrich
The common ostrich (Struthio camelus), is the biggest and heaviest bird that still exists in the world. Common ostriches are large, up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall birds with long necks and legs.
Ostriches have remarkable running abilities, with the ability to attain top speeds of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour). They are omnivorous and are known for their inquisitive and social nature.
These giants lay the biggest eggs of any land animal, each one weighing about 3 pounds, like holding 24 chicken eggs at once!
There are actually two kinds of ostriches: the common ostrich and the Somali ostrich. They look similar, but they live in different parts of Africa.
- Appearance: Black body plumage with white wing and tail tips, Bare pink neck and head, Long eyelashes and distinctive bald patch on crown, Males have larger, brighter red neck pouches during breeding season.
- Size: Height Up to 2.75 meters (9 feet) tall for males, 1.9 meters (6.3 feet) for females. Weight of Males up to 130 kilograms (290 pounds), females up to 120 kilograms (260 pounds).
- Habitat: Found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, Favor savannas, grasslands, and semi-arid plains.
- Family Name: Struthionidae (Ostrich family).
- Scientific name: Struthio camelus
2. Somali Ostrich (2.7 meters tall and 130 kilograms)
Somali Ostrich
Somali ostriches are like fancy cousins of regular ostriches!. They wear regal blue-gray necks and legs, hence the nickname “blue-necked ostrich.”
The Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) was until 2014 considered a subspecies of the common ostrich, also known as the blue-necked ostrich. But in 2014 it was recognized as a separate species.
- Appearance: Distinct “blue-necked” plumage (grayish-blue neck and legs)
- Size: Large, though slightly smaller than common ostrich (up to 6.6 ft, 344 lbs)
- Habitat: Arid regions of East Africa (Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia)
3. Emu (2 meters tall and 70 kilograms)
Emu
Emu’s scientific name is Dromis Novahollandia. It’s like a big beautiful little ostrich, and ostriches aren’t made to fly either, they’re flightless birds. Emu is said to be the second-biggest bird in the world.
The female species are larger in comparison to the male species and if taller, approximately 2 meters. Emu is fast birds too, and have the ability to reach 48 kilometres per hour, using their three-toed feet and small wings to keep them stable when running.
- Appearance: Mostly brown and gray, with black head and neck strip, Long neck, powerful legs, no visible tail
- Size: Up to 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) and Up to 55 kg (121 pounds)
- Habitat: Woodlands, grasslands, semi-arid regions
- Family Name:Dromaiidae (Emu family)
4. Southern Cassowary( 2 meters tall and 76 kilograms)
Southern Cassowary
Southern cassowary (Casurius curious) birds have dark glossy plumage and are large. The southern cassowary bird is found in north-eastern Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea places. It is a huge, flightless, blackbird.
One of three cassowary species, they are also known as the double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary, and two-wattled cassowary. It is also known as the fourth-largest bird in the world, The southern cassowary is claimed to be the most dangerous bird in the world.
Each southern cassowary has large feet, sharp 13-centimetre claws that they use to kick out in defence of any other large bird, and has been known to kill humans.
- Appearance: Striking blue face, red wattles on throat, helmet-like casque on head, stiff black bristles extending from neck, bright red skin around neck and face. Glossy black plumage with contrasting blue and red accents.
- Size: Up to 5.8 feet (177 cm) tall & Males up to 121 pounds (55 kg), females up to 167 pounds (76 kg).
- Habitat: Rainforests of northeastern Australia and New Guinea, as well as some Indonesian islands.
- Family: Casuariidae (Cassowary family)
- Scientific Name: Casuarius casuarius
5. Dalmatian Pelican (2 meters tall and 15 kilograms)
Dalmatian Pelican
Dalmatian pelican birds are the heaviest and one of the largest flying birds on earth, it weighs about 15 kg and is 2m in height. It is commonly found in rivers, lakes and estuaries in the region of Southeastern Europe, Russia, India and China. The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus Crispus) belongs to Eurasia. They are social birds, living mainly in cluster foam.
- Appearance: Disheveled white plumage, orange pouch during breeding season (yellow in non-breeding), long curly head feathers.
- Size: Up to 9.5 kg (21 lbs), among the heaviest flying birds. Can reach 1.8 meters (6 ft) standing tall.
- Wingspan: Rivaling those of albatrosses, up to 3.4 meters (11 ft).
- Habitat: Extensive, spanning Central Eurasia from the Mediterranean to Taiwan and from the Persian Gulf to Siberia.
- Family Name: Pelecanidae (Pelican family).
- Scientific name: Pelecanus crispus.
6. Northern Cassowary(2 meters tall and 76 kilograms)
Northern Cassowary
The Northern cassowary (Casaurus unpendiculatus) is native to northern New Guinea. The female species are larger in comparison to the male species and if taller, approximately 2 meters. It weighs around 76 kilograms.
Despite their stocky build, the northern cassowary is also known by other names as the one-wattled cassowary or golden-necked cassowary.It runs at a speed of 50 kilometres per hour.
- Appearance: Helmet-like casque on top of head, bright red or yellow neck wattle, blue facial skin, stiff black plumage.
- Size: Height up to 3ft 3in (1 meter) and weight up to 47 kg (103 lbs).
- Habitat: Lowland rainforests of northern New Guinea and nearby islands.
- Family Name: Casuariidae (Cassowary family).
- Scientific name: Casuarius unappendiculatus.
7. Mute Swan & Trumpeter Swan( 1.7 meters tall and 14 kilograms)
Mute Swan
The mute swan (Cygnus olor) and the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) are of similar structure, height, and weight. Both are known as the two heaviest flying birds in the world. These swan structures are beautiful and elegant but there is a dark side to this when they defend their families or territories – standing upright and hissing or attacking intruders with their beaks and wings.
- Appearance: Mute Swan is Pure white and Neck curved in an “S” shape. Trumpeter Swan is Pure white and Neck curved in a “C” shape.
- Size: Mute Swan’s Height Up to 5 feet (1.5 m) and Weight Up to 30 pounds (14 kg). Trumpeter Swan’s Height up to 6 feet (1.8 m) and Weight’s up to 35 pounds (16 kg).
- Habitat: Found in Europe, Asia, and North America. Prefers lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers.
- Family Name: Both Mute Swans and Trumpeter Swans belong to the same family: Anatidae (Duck family).
- Subfamily: Cygninae (Swan subfamily).
Trumpeter Swan
8. Greater Rhea(1.7 meters tall and 40 kilograms)
Greater Rhea
The Greater Rheas (Rhea americana) is one of the biggest birds in the Americas. Greater Rias Endemic to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Greater rhea birds are flightless and fast. It has the ability to run at speeds of up to 35 kilometres per hour using its long, well-shaped legs.
With their high speed, they gather in clusters of up to 100 birds during the non-breeding season to protect themselves from predators.
- Appearance: Grey-brown overall with long, light underparts. Males have darker crowns and upperparts. Three-toed feet, unlike the ostrich’s two-toed arrangement.
- Size: Up to 3-5 feet tall (0.9-1.5 meters). About 33-66 pounds (15-30 kilograms). Males are typically larger than females.
- Habitat:Native to open areas like grasslands, savannas, and grassy wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
- Family Name: Belongs to the Rheidae family, containing only two species: the greater rhea and the lesser rhea.
9. Marabou Stork(1.7 meters tall and 9 kilograms )
Marabou Stork
Marabou storks (Leptoptilos crumenifer) are large endangered birds present in Africa south of the Sahara. Marabous are scavengers who eat anything from termites, flamingos, and small birds and mammals to human faeces and dead elephants on the earth. They also eat on carcasses with other scavengers like vultures and hyenas.
They are abnormal-appearance birds, bald-headed with wisps of hair, perhaps able of their addition to the ugly five. The spread of their wings extends up to 3.2 meters and the height is about 1.7 meters. Marabou storks have hollow bones in their feet and legs, which is an adaptation to help them fly.
- Appearance: “Undertaker bird” due to its shape (cloak-like wings/back, skinny legs, and white “hair”). Massive dagger-like bill, naked pink head and neck with inflatable throat pouch, white ruff.
- Size: Height upto 1.37 meters (4.5 ft) & Weight upto4.5-8 kg (10-18 lbs).
- Habitat:Wetlands, dry savannas, near human habitation (especially landfill sites). Found in many countries including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia.
- Family Name: Ciconiidae (Stork family)
- Scientific name: Leptoptilos crumenifer
10. Shoebill(1.7 meters tall and 6.8 kilograms)
Shoebill
The solitary shoebill stork (Balaeniceps rex) is a very big bird. Its height is up to around 1.7 meters high. Males species are commonly taller compared to females and have much longer bills.
The entire shoebill is bluish-grey, with black-tipped and slaty feathers edged with green. Shoebills are mainly carnivorous birds.
They are large in size and have huge beaks that give them permission to hunt anything from water snakes to catfish and sometimes even monitor lizards.
- Appearance: Large, bulbous, and straw-colored with erratic gray markings, resembling a clog or shoe. Overall body is various shades of gray, with darker hues on the head and wings
- Size: Around 110-140 cm (43-55 in) in height, some reaching up to 152 cm (60 in).Not bulky, despite their height, weighing around 4-7 kg (8.8-15.4 lb).
- Habitat: Found in large swamps and wetlands from South Sudan to Zambia.
- Family Name: Balaenicipitidae (Shoebill family).
11. Domestic Turkey(1 meter and 8.2 kilograms)
Domestic Turkey
Domestic turkeys and wild turkeys are the same species and are endemic to North America. However, unlike wild turkeys, domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo f. domesticus) do not have the ability to fly because they have been selectively bred to be so heavy. Due to the heavy breast muscles, they can not fly and their breast meat is white.
- Appearance: Males (toms) have iridescent black body feathers with copper highlights, white wing tips, and a distinctive red wattle and snood above their beak. Females (hens) have brown body feathers with white spots and smaller wattles and snoods.
- Size: Toms up to 3.5 feet (1.1 meters), hens up to 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) & up to 50 pounds (23 kg), hens up to 20 pounds (9 kg).
- Habitat: Originally from North American forests, but now mainly found in farms and poultry enclosures around the world.
- Family Name: Meleagrididae (turkey family)
12. Emperor Penguin(1.3 meters tall and 45 kilograms )
Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the tallest and heaviest of the entire penguin species. Its are present only in the Antarctica area. Both the male and female emperor penguins are not flighted and homozygous in size and colouring to females, but display different functions during the breeding season.
For two months during the dark Antarctic winter, 100 male Emperor penguins gather together to protect their eggs from the freezing cold while the female species go out to sea to hunt. Males lose about half their body weight during this time.
- Appearance: Black head, back, and flippers contrasting with snowy white belly and bright yellow feathers on the neck and chest.
- Size: Reaching up to 120 cm (39 inches) in height and weighing around 45 kg (99 pounds).
- Habitat:They breed and raise their chicks on sea ice and coastal landmasses.
- Family Name: Aptenodytes forsteri
13. Lesser Rhea(1 meter and 25 kilograms)
Lesser Rhea
The lesser rhea – (Rhea pennata) is height around 1 meter tall and weighs in at around 25 kilograms. It’s mainly present in South America. Lesser rheas occur in solitary or in small groups, and males take care of their little birds.
- Appearance: Brown plumage with white and black markings. Long, slender neck and legs
- Size:Reaching up to 90-100 cm (35-39 inches) in height and weighing around 15-28.6 kg (33-63 pounds).
- Habitat: Found in parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Open grasslands, steppes, and shrublands
- Family Name: Rheidae (Rhea family)
14. King Penguin(1 meter tall and 18 kilograms )
King Penguin
King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are found in selected islands in the outer reaches of Antarctica, and also on the tip of the South American continent. King Penguins are the second species of penguin on this list, this species has a maximum height of 1 meter and weighs around 18 kg. They carry the same weight as the largest flying birds.
- Appearance: Bright orange patches on cheeks and upper chest, contrasting with black head and back. Underside and flippers are a clean white.
- Size: After emperor penguins, kings are the biggest, reaching an average height of 94 cm (37 inches).
- Habitat: They prefer the colder regions south of the Antarctic Convergence, found on islands like South Georgia, Macquarie Island, and the Kerguelen Islands.
- Family Name: Spheniscidae (Penguin family).
- Scientific name: Aptenodytes patagonicus.
15. Dwarf Cassowary (1.1 meters tall and 23 kilograms)
Dwarf Cassowary
The dwarf cassowary is the smallest species in the cassowary genus, the dwarf cassowary (Casaurus bennettii) also known as Bennett’s cassowary, small cassowary, mountain cassowary, and mooruk among other names.
Dwarf cassowary birds exist only in New Guinea, New Britain and Yapen Island in mountain forests up to an altitude of 3,300 m.
Casuarius bennettii is the smallest of the three species of cassowary, living in forests up to 3 km high on hills and mountains. Growing up to about a meter tall, this bird eats fungi, fruits and even insects or small animals.
- Appearance: Adult males have brighter colors. Red skin on the face and neck particularly prominent on females.
- Size: Reaching up to 3 to 5 feet tall (99 – 150 cm) in height and weighing around 33-55 lbs (17.6-26 kg).
- Habitat: High-altitude forests and mountains of New Guinea and New Britain.
- Family Name: Casuariidae (Cassowary family)
- Scientific name: Casuarius bennetti
16. Cinereous Vulture (1.1 meters tall and 13.2 kilograms)
Cinereous Vulture
The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is the heaviest and largest bird of prey in the entire world. Many scientists suggest that this bird is the largest vulture and the greatest bird of prey. Its height is approximately 1.1 meter long and its weight is around 13.2 kg.
The cinereous vulture is found in southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Mongolia, and southern China in the region.
- Appearance: Ash-colored feathers (hence the name “cinereous”). Bald head and neck ,light blue-gray skin, becoming lighter with age
- Size: Body LengthUp to 1.2 meters (3.9 feet). Adults range from 6.3 to 14 kg (14 to 31 pounds), with females generally larger than males
- Habitat: Found in mountains, upland forests, grasslands, and steppes . From Spain and Morocco in the west to China in the east.
- Family Name: Accipitridae (Hawk family)
Conclusion
Birds are a beautiful part of the world. Thus, we all should take proper measures to help the birds to survive and save them from extinction. Birds are necessary for our ecosystem and its maintenance, thus we all should protect them.
Also, check:
Biggest Birds In The World – FAQs
Q. What is the biggest bird in the world?
The biggest bird in the world is the common ostrich. It is a flightless bird native to Africa. Ostriches can grow up to 9 feet tall and weigh up to 350 pounds.
Q. What are the top 10 biggest birds in the world?
The top 10 biggest birds in the world are:
- Common ostrich (Struthio camelus)
- Common emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
- Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
- Northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus)
- Greater rhea (Rhea americana)
- Lesser rhea (Rhea pennata)
- Andean condor (Vultur gryphus)
- Common crane (Grus grus)
- Great hornbill (Buceros bicornis)
- Kori bustard (Ardeotis kori)
Q. What is the heaviest bird in the world?
The heaviest bird in the world is the male common ostrich. Male ostriches can weigh up to 350 pounds.
Q. What is the tallest bird in the world?
The tallest bird in the world is the common ostrich. Male ostriches can grow up to 9 feet tall.
Q. What is the largest bird of prey in the world?
The largest bird of prey in the world is the Andean condor. Andean condors can have a wingspan of up to 10 feet and weigh up to 33 pounds.
Q. What is the fastest bird in the world?
The fastest bird in the world is the peregrine falcon. Peregrine falcons can reach speeds of up to 240 miles per hour.
Q. What is the longest-living bird in the world?
The longest-living bird in the world is the macaw. Macaws can live for up to 100 years in captivity.
Q. What is the most endangered bird in the world?
The most endangered bird in the world is the Spix’s macaw. There are only a few Spix’s macaws left in the wild.
Q. Where can I see the world’s biggest birds?
You can see the world’s biggest birds in zoos, sanctuaries, and in the wild. Some popular places to see big birds include:
- Africa: Ostrich, common emu, southern cassowary
- Australia: Common emu, southern cassowary
- South America: Greater rhea, lesser rhea, Andean condor
- Europe: Common crane
- Asia: Great hornbill
- Africa: Kori bustard
Q. How can I help protect the world’s biggest birds?
You can help protect the world’s biggest birds by:
- Supporting conservation organizations that are working to protect birds and their habitats
- Reducing your carbon footprint to help mitigate climate change
- Educating others about the importance of bird conservation