Bird World Record Holders: Which Birds Soar Above All Others?
With such an awesome amount of different bird species in this world, it is an incredible achievement of evolution to become “the best” at something. For the worlds largest to the world’s smallest, from the heaviest to the lightest, these avian champions compete to evolve into the most perfect and all take drastically different routes. I find it fascinating to delve into these champions, so here is a selection of record holders, and where you might find them.
The Smallest and the Largest
First of all, there are many different ways of interpreting “smallest” and “largest”. One is length, another is wingspan and weight can be considered as well.
The bird with the largest wingspan is certainly the wandering albatross, with the longest verified wingspan being around 3.7 meters. These giants cover tens of thousands of miles every year, ranging all around the oceans but they can be found feeding year-round on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
Both the longest and the heaviest bird award belong to the Ostrich, with a length of 2.1 meters and a weight of a whopping 104kg. And these are just averaging across sub species! The North African Ostrich can reach 2.7 meters and 154 kg. The north African Ostrich covers eastern to north western Africa in open areas, but Ostriches of different sub species can be found throughout Africa.
The smallest bird in the world, being the shortest, having the smallest wingspan and being the lightest, is the Bee hummingbird. The males, which are smaller than the females, only grow to be 5.5cm in length and way just 1.95g. Their wingspan is 6.5cm, which is smaller than many insects. The Bee hummingbird can bee found throughout Cuba.
The Fastest
I think most people know that the fastest bird in the world is the Peregrine falcon, which can regularly record speeds of 200mph when they dive. The fastest ever recorded Peregrine dive is 242mph. Luckily, Peregrine’s can be found throughout the world, the only places they are missing are the polar regions and New-Zealand. They have also become very adept at living in urban environments, viewing skyscrapers very much like cliffs to nest on and the cities are full of Pigeons, a common prey for the Peregrine. They are now found in many cities, including London, New York, and Rome.
But what about the fastest level flight (i.e. not diving) bird? Well it seems the that the Homing Racing Pigeon has this record, being recorded at 125mph. However, as they are bred for speed by man, I will discount them and instead go for the fastest, naturally evolved bird, the white-throated needletail. This bird has been reported at 105mph and are migratory, breeding in central Asia and wintering from India, south eastern Asia, and Australia.
When it comes to running though, the Ostrich takes the record again. The ostrich can run at speeds of 43mph, making them not only the fastest birds on land, but the fastest animal on two legs.
The Loudest
Imagine how loud a Slipknot concert would be (110 decibels). Now imagine a chainsaw at close range (115 decibels) Not loud enough for you? Well the loudest recorded bird in the world is the white bellbird, which has been recorded at 125 decibels. That is loud enough to cause immediate damage to your hearing. They can be found in forests in the Guianas (French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana).
Beak Size and Feather length
The record for the longest beak in the world can be interpreted in two ways, the overall longest or the longest in relation to its body size. The bird with the overall longest beak is the Australian pelican, with a bill of between 34 and 47 centimetres, although the longest recorded was 50cm. The longest beak in relation to its body is the sword-billed hummingbird, which has a beak that is over 10cm long. Doesn’t sound much, does it? Well, that’s until you consider the fact that this is longer than the rest of its body (excluding the tail feathers). This is the only bird to have a longer beak that its body. They can be found in the tropical forests of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Peru.
As for the smallest, you think that the record for world’s smallest beak would go to the worlds smallest bird. But the beak is measured from the nostrils to the tip of the beak, and the Kiwi has its nostrils right on the very end of its beak, meaning it technically has the shortest beak of the animal kingdom. The Kiwi can, of course, be found in New Zealand.
The longest natural feather record is held by the Reeves's pheasant, which has a tail feather measuring 2.4 meters. They can be found in evergreen forests of central and eastern China. In relation to its body size, the Ribbon-tailed astrapia takes the crown. The males of this bird-of-paradise species can have tails of over 1m long, which is around three times the length of its body. They can be found in the forests in central Papua New Guinea.
The Highest Flying and the Deepest Diving
The highest-flying bird in the animal kingdom is the Rüppell's vulture. They have incredible eyesight, so instead of ranging far and wide in search of food, they just fly higher in order to see further. The highest Rüppell's vulture flight has been recorded a dizzying 11,300 m (37,000 ft) - the cruising attitude of commercial aircraft, as pictured. We know the Rüppell's vulture can reach such a height because this particular record-breaking animal was unfortunately killed by a jet engine. These birds are found in the Sahel region of Africa.
The greatest depth accurately recorded by a bird was 564m by the Emperor penguin and it is thought that they can dive for over 30 minutes. The best place to see Emperor penguins is the Weddell Sea, near Antarctica, where they have been breeding on Snow Hill Island.
