The largest birds in the world are striking in their size. But many of them paid for their growth and mass, having lost the ability to fly. Leaders are ranked by size, wingspan and weight among flying, non-flying and leading water lifestyles.
10
Swan Mute
Opens the rating of the world's largest birds in the world of the swan's mute sword. Among the duck family, this is the largest representative. The weight of the bird can reach 22 kg, the wingspan is 2.4 m, the height is 1.8 m. Now this is one of the most rare birds in the wild, as hunting for swans has led to their disappearance. They are well-behaved in captivity and are therefore an ornament of many pond ensembles. The swan got its name because of the hissing sound, which it emits when it's angry.
9
Imperial penguin
Birds that do not know how to fly - penguins are among the heaviest and largest in the world. The most prominent of the family is the imperial penguin, whose weight reaches 50 kg, rising to 1.3 m. The penguin extracts the search exclusively in the water. He has a well-developed vision, which allows you to dive to a depth of 550 m. To find food penguins are ready to overcome considerable distances and gain at the same speed to 55-58 km / h. Birds nest in colonies. In severe frosts, they gather in large groups to keep warm and constantly move from one place to another - so each individual receives its share of heat.
8
Steller's sea eagle
One of the largest and heaviest birds is the Steller's sea eagle. The wingspan of an adult can reach up to 2.45 m, an increase of 1.15 m. This predator prefers to eat fish of salmonids, but also poses a serious threat to young seals, on which they can also attack. Because of the considerable weight( up to 9 kg), the eagles do not make large flights, so they nest in proximity to the place of extraction. Despite the fact that the eagles build pairs for the continuation of the family, betrayal of them - an ordinary case. They mate with other individuals, both males and females. Therefore in the family of eagles there can be chicks from different fathers.
7
Bustard
The constitution of bustards allows you to include it in the list of the largest birds. Males reach 16 kg, while the length of the body is 1 m, and the sweep of wide strong wings can be up to 2.4 m. The drift flies perfectly, although the altitude is very slow. But the more she likes to move around the land, for this, she has powerful, flawless legs. Unlike other birds, the bustards do not have the coccygeal gland, which produces fatty grease for feathering. Therefore, during the rainy season and frost, they become helpless because of wet and frozen wings.
6
Crane
Not only the largest bird in the world, but also the most ancient is the crane. The formation of the family dates back to the times of dinosaurs. The Indian representative of the family is considered to be the largest: the height is 1.75 m, the wingspan reaches 2.4 m. This height makes the crane the tallest flying bird on the planet. In the family there are also their heavyweights - this is a Japanese crane, able to gain up to 12 kg. Practically in every country where cranes live, they are appreciated for their beauty, gracefulness, marriage dances and fidelity. Birds save a couple until the end of life.
5
Curly pelican
Strange name "baba" has another largest bird - curly pelican, so called for curly feathers on the head. The body of the bird reaches a length of 1.8 m, the wingspan is 3.4 m, the length of the beak is 0.5 m( the second largest in the world).The weight can be dialed up to 15 kg. On the day of a large bird eats food, the weight of which is 20-30% of the weight of the animal itself. Pelican flies equally well and swims. But in the water the wings quickly get wet, so it often during swimming raises them up to drain water. Also, the beak constantly carries the pelican along its wings, as if squeezing water, so that if the danger is bad, the feathers are dry and it can fly up freely.
4
Black neck
The black fret or "bearded" belongs to the largest birds. The wingspan reaches almost 3 m, and the body length is 1.2 m. Unlike other birds, the male is significantly larger than the female. The vultures have large eyes, so they have excellent eyesight, and a strong and large beak allows them to tear the prey to pieces. Feathers on the head replace the fluff. All these characteristics are adaptations for a scavenger who does not hunt, but seeks and eats prey. Eat vultures a lot and even too much. Sometimes, after weighing, they can not fly under the weight of their own weight. It comes to that, feeling a danger, vultures regurgitate food in order to rise into the air.
3
The wandering Albatross
The largest flying bird in the world is a wandering albatross. The range of its wings is 3.3 m and its length is 1.2 m. Among other representatives of the albatross bird, the wanderer has completely white plumage and only a fringe of wings is trimmed with a black strip. Albatrosses are solitary, although they nest in colonies. The albatrosses feed on all the fish without exception, able to fit into a huge beak. They are frequent satellites of marine trailers for the processing of seafood, waiting for waste. Albatrosses live for a long time, on average this is 30 years, but they can survive up to 50, while they create a pair only once.
2
Casuar
Some of the largest flying birds in the world are cassowaries. In size, they occupy the second place in the world and the first on the Australian mainland. Shlemonosny cassowary from the family is the largest representative: growth - 1.5 m, weight - 80 kg. The bird runs fast. It is capable of speeding up to 50 km / h in a matter of seconds and swims well and swiftly. Cassowaries are considered very dangerous. Their main weapon is a claw, similar to a dagger, whose length reaches 15 cm. Representatives of the family in 2004 fell into the Guinness book as the most dangerous on the planet. They ceased to be kept in zoos, as too many injuries were inflicted on employees and visitors.
1
Ostrich
By right the biggest bird in the world is recognized as an ostrich. But besides this, it is also the heaviest and fastest representative of birds. Its height reaches 2.7 m, weight reaches up to 200 kg while the speed that the animal can develop is 70 km / h. No wonder in translation its name means "sparrow-camel".Only one step made by a bird is 4 meters. How much the ostrich eats in nature is thoroughly unknown, but in captivity a day it needs 3.5 - 4 kg of food. Without teeth, he eats peas for better digestion, can even swallow metal elements. The biggest bird is very dangerous. Striking her powerful leg with a long claw, she is capable of killing a large predator, even as dangerous as a lion.
