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Which Is the Heaviest Flying Bird?

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Quick Answer

The great bustard is usually considered the heaviest flying bird, with males sometimes weighing around 16 to 18 kilograms.

The Full Story

The great bustard lives on open grasslands and farmland from Spain and Portugal across Central Asia to China. Males are much larger than females and can weigh around 16 to 18 kilograms, with exceptional reports higher. Africa's kori bustard is a close rival for the title. Large birds face a physical limit because body weight increases faster than wing strength as size grows. The extinct Argentavis magnificens of South America may have weighed about 70 kilograms and had a wingspan of around 7 metres.

Key Facts

1.Male great bustards can weigh more than four times as much as females.
2.During courtship, males inflate their throats and turn their feathers into white 'foam'.
3.The great bustard has been reintroduced to Salisbury Plain in England.

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Suggested video title for this topic:

"The heaviest bird that can still fly."

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