Nov 16, 2024, 02:24 PM IST

10 biggest and heaviest birds in the world

Varsha Agarwal

It weighs as much as a piano and is also the speediest living land bird with running speeds of up to 40mph.

Common ostrich (Struthio camelus) 156.8 kg

The Somali ostrich is on average slightly smaller than its relative Common Ostrich. It is native to the Horn of Africa.

Somali Ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) 130 kg

About 1.7m tall, Southern cassowary is native to the northeastern Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. 

Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) 85 kg

Very similar in look to its southern cousin, the Northern cassowary is slightly lighter.

Northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus) 75 kg

This long-legged, long-necked bird can reach around 1.9m tall and is found only in Australia.

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) 70 kg

These heavy penguins are found exclusively in Antarctica and in places that allow them to survive in this extreme land of ice and snow.

Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) 46 kg

Greater rhea can be found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay

Greater rhea (Rhea americana) 40 kg

Domestic turkeys weigh far more than wild turkeys with females weighing up to 5kg and males weighing up to 11kg. 

Domestic turkey/wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 39 kg (domestic)

The smallest of the three cassowary species, the dwarf cassowary is also known as the mountain cassowary.

Dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti) 34 kg

The lesser rhea is also known as Darwin’s rhea as they were a species that helped start Darwin’s musings on the mechanism of evolution.

Lesser rhea (Rhea pennata) 28.6 kg