Would you like to know which are the world largest birds? Would you like to know how much they measure? Are you interested in knowing a little bit more about their feeding, location, reproduction and behavior? Find here a list of large exotic birds in the world and learn about these big exotic birds.
1. Wandering albatross
Scientific name: Diomedea exulans
Thanks to its 1.50 m height, it is the largest flying bird, reaching a wingspan of 3.5 meters when it fully extends its wings. It is a seabird that lives in the oceans, preferably in subantarctic and subtropical regions. The wing plumage is white in adult males, with black primary feathers; shows large wing coverts mottled with black towards the ends, and with age the proportion of white increases.
The bill is pale pink, with the nostrils slightly inclined upwards; the legs are webbed, and flesh-colored. The female is smaller, and has a crown of brown feathers. Juveniles show brownish plumage and brown legs. It closely resembles the royal albatross. He is monogamous for life; In the event that one member of the pair dies, the other will not reproduce until a new pair is formed, which can take several years. It reproduces biennially, reaching sexual maturity around 10 years of age. It nests on Antarctic and Subantarctic islands, where it builds its nest with feathers, moss and droppings in areas separated from each other by more than 20 m.
2. Andean condor
Scientific name: Vultur gryphus
This beautiful exotic bird can measure up to 1.4 m and have a wingspan of 3.3 meters with its wings spread. Males can weigh 11-15 kg, while females weigh between 8-11 kg. It is a large black bird, with white feathers around the neck and on parts of the wings. The head lacks feathers and is red in color, and can change its hue according to the emotional state of the bird. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.
It is a scavenger bird. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests between 1000 and 5000 ms. n. m., generally in inaccessible rock formations. It has a very low reproduction rate, it lays an egg every two years. It is one of the longest-lived birds, being able to reach the age of seventy-five years in captivity. The Andean condor is found throughout the Andes Mountains, from southern Tierra del Fuego (Chile and Argentina) to western Venezuela. Two of its largest habitats are found in southern Peru, in the Colca Canyon in the Caylloma Province, Arequipa, and the next in the Mayobamba Canyon, Chipao District, Lucanas Province in Ayacucho
3. Californian condor
Scientific name: Gymnogyps californianus
It lives in northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps. This relative of the previous one can reach 1.2 m in height and weigh about 10 kg for males and about 9 kg for females. Its wingspan is 3 meters. It is a species that is in critical danger of extinction.
They have a bare and relatively small head, generally reddish in color, although it may change according to the mood of the animal, with a very sharp beak and hooked end. The wings are long and wide and the legs have short and slightly curved nails, with the rear toe insert elevated. They are adapted for walking and for holding carrion. They reach sexual maturity at approximately seven years. The juvenile plumage of both sexes is brown in color until reaching the characteristic bluish-black plumage of the adults in successive molts. When they are adults, the head and neck have bars of varying colors pink, red and orange. The plumage is black, with a white covering under the wings.
4. The great bustard
Scientific name: Otis tarda
The Great Bustard is a large exotic bird with long legs and neck and a voluminous barrel-shaped body, with a steppe lifestyle typical of its family. Great bustards are the heaviest flying birds in the world, along with the kori bustard. It is also one of the living species of birds with a greater sexual dimorphism, in terms of size between males and females. The only known species with greater dimorphism in size is the green-necked peacock (Pavo muticus) whose males are almost four times the weight of females. Among the bustards and the rest of the live birds, their only rival in the maximum weight registers are the kori bustards (Ardeotis kori), which are longer and taller.
Male Great Bustard is typically 90 to 105 cm tall, with a length of around 115 cm and a wingspan of 2.1 to 2.7 m. The weight of males usually ranges between 5.8 and 18 kg. The female is a third smaller in linear measurements; it is generally between 75 and 85 cm tall, about 90 cm long, and has a wingspan of about 180 cm. The females weigh almost a third of the weight of the males. In general the weight of the females is between 3.1 and 8 kg.
5. Ostrich
Scientific name: Struthio camelus
It is the largest and heaviest bird in the world. When they are born they are between 25 and 30 cm tall, weighing about 900 g. During the first year of life, chicks grow about 25 cm per month. Adult males can reach 3 meters, and weigh around 180 kg. Their small wings do not allow them to fly but help them to propel themselves, balance when running and as a defense mechanism, flapping them to attack possible predators.
It has a small head in relation to the body, large eyes that measure five centimeters in diameter and provide excellent eyesight, a flat, blunt-tipped beak, a long neck devoid of feathers, as well as its long legs that are powerful, strong and muscular. , adapted to run reaching more than 90 km / h for about thirty minutes. If they are cornered they attack with strong kicks using their claws as weapons. While most birds have four toes on each leg, the ostrich has only two. Their longevity is between thirty and forty years, although in captivity they can reach fifty years.