The Animals With the Widest Wingspan
In this article, you will discover which animals boast the largest wingspan!
There is a bird that is also called the king of the sky: the Andean Condor. Although it cannot carry anyone there would be enough space for two people on its large wings. Below this chart you will find more funny comparisons and learn how to measure the wingspan of an animal.
Which Animals Have the Largest Wingspan?
| Albatross | Wingspan |
| Wandering albatross | 11.9-12.1 ft (3.63-3.7 m) |
| Birds of Prey | |
| Andean condor | 10.8 ft (3.3 m) |
| Californian condor | 9.8 ft (3.0 m) |
| Bearded vulture | 7.5-9.2 ft (2.31-2.83 m) |
| Secretarybird | 6.2-7.2 ft (1.91-2.2 m) |
| Golden eagle | 5.9-7.6 ft (1.8-2.34 m) |
| American eagle | 5.9-7.5 ft (1.8-2.3 m) |
| Turkey buzzard | 5.2-6 ft (1.6-1.83 m) |
| King vulture | 3.9-6.5 ft (1.2-2.0 m) |
| Geese | |
| Trumpeter swan | 10.1 ft (3.1 m) |
| Canada goose | 7.3 ft (2.24 m) |
| Wading Birds | |
| Marabou stork | 118 inch (300 cm) |
| Saddle-bill stork | 94-106 inch (240-270 cm) |
| Goliath heron | 73-90.5 inch (185-230 cm) |
| White stork | 61-85 inch (155-215 cm) |
| Owls | |
| Blakiston's fish owl | 5.8-6.2 ft (1.78-1.9 m) |
| Snowy owl | 3.8-6 ft (1.16-1.83 m) |
| Eagle-owl | 4.5-5.5 ft (1.38-1.7 m) |
| Great horned owl | 2.9-5 ft (0.91-1.53 m) |
| Cranes | |
| Wattled crane | 7.5-8.5 ft (2.3-2.6 m) |
| Whooping crane | 7.5 ft (2.3 m) |
| Manchurian crane | 7.2-8.2 ft (2.2-2.5 m) |
| Sarus crane | 7.2-8.2 ft (2.2-2.5 m) |
| Pelicans | |
| Dalmatian pelican | 9.5-11.3 ft (2.9-3.45 m) |
| American white pelican | 7.8-9.8 ft (2.4-3 m) |
| Australian pelican | 7.5-8.5 ft (2.3-2.6 m) |
| Seagulls | |
| Blackback | 4.9-5,5 ft (1.5-1.7 m) |
| Glaucous gull | 4.3-5.5 ft (1.32-1.7 m) |
| Herring gull | 4.1-5 ft (1.25-1.55 m) |
| Bats | |
| Giant golden-crowned flying fox | 5.5 ft (1.7 m) |
| False vampire bat | 1.3 ft (1.02 m) |
What Exacytly Is the Wingspan?
Or to put it another way: How do you measure the wingspan? For this, the animal has to spread its wings first of course. Otherwise it would be impossible to measure the wingspan. You start at the tip of the longest primary feather of one wing and measure the length to the tip of the longest primary feather of the other wing.
Measuring the Wingspan – Why Is It So Difficult?
You cannot tell birds to hold still when you are applying the tape measure or the meter stick. Birds also do not always spread their wings as far as they really can. This also makes measuring difficult. This is the reason why there are many contradictory statements regarding the widest wingspan of animals. Many of them appear to be proven as they can be found in books, but – just like in the internet – they are often obsolete and unreliable. We have researched the data very carefully and keep updating this list regularly.
The Butterfly With the Widest Wingspan
It is wonderful to look at butterflies gliding through the air. But if you happen to see an atlas moth, you rather have the impression of a monster moth passing by. Its wingspan measures 12 inches (30.4 cm).
The Spider With the Widest Wingspan
The wingspan of the Goliath bird-eating spider is hardly less impressive: 11 inches (27.9 cm). If it spreads its legs, it is even bigger than a human head. If you take a textbook in DIN A4 format, its vertical length does not much exceed the diameter of a Goliath spider.
The Octopus With the Widest Wingspan
The Pacific giant octopus is not a bird, but you could easily use its 8.1 feet (2.48 meters) long tentacles as a comfortable sofa. But who would lie down there and even close one eye?
The Smallest Wingspan
The bumblebee bat is the smallest bat species and one of the smallest mammals. Its wingspan nevertheless measures impressive 5-6 inch (13-15 cm).