--- description: Scientists identified a bird with the wingspan of 21 feet soared through the skies some 25 million years ago. title: Scientists Identify World's Largest Bird image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta39a453e4ee64d10/69869ac8810bbb3642c9282e/bird.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Scientists: Biggest-Ever Bird Had Massive 20-Foot Wingspan by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 8, 2014 12:05 PM CUT  This is a reconstruction of the world's largest-ever flying bird, Pelagornis sandersi, identified by Daniel Ksepka, Curator of Science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Conn. Reconstruction art is by Liz Bradford. This is a reconstruction of the world's largest-ever flying bird, Pelagornis sandersi, identified by Daniel Ksepka, Curator of Science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Conn. Reconstruction art is by Liz Bradford.Liz Bradford by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 8, 2014 12:05 PM CUT Scientists have identified what they believe to be the largest bird to have ever lived. According to a [paper](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/07/02/1320297111.abstract "undefined") published in the _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_ Monday, a bird with a wingspan of about 21 feet soared through the skies some 25 million years ago. That’s double the size of a modern Royal Albatross and, [according to the Associated Press](http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/ap/study-fossil-soaring-bird-had--foot-wingspan/article%5F6bf8a346-060c-11e4-9076-001a4bcf6878.html "undefined"), bigger than a giraffe’s head. While the bird’s giant size led to some [clumsiness on land](http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/07/study-fossil-soaring-bird-had-huge-wingspan/ "undefined"), flight analysis estimates that the creature traveled up to 50 feet a second in the air. “This was a pretty impressive creature,” Bruce Museum paleontologist Daniel T. Ksepka [told the _Wall Street Journal_](http://online.wsj.com/articles/scientists-identify-largest-flying-bird-1404759602 "undefined"). “Science had made a rule about flight, and life found a way around it.” The ancient bird’s sizable skeleton was discovered in 1983 near a Charleston, South Carolina airport. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2965557/biggest-bird/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2965557/biggest-bird/"},"headline":"Scientists: Biggest-Ever Bird Had Massive 20-Foot Wingspan","datePublished":"2014-07-08T12:05:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:11:27.991Z","description":"With a wingspan of about 21 feet","url":"https://time.com/2965557/biggest-bird/","keywords":["animals","Newsfeed","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta39a453e4ee64d10/69869ac8810bbb3642c9282e/bird.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta39a453e4ee64d10/69869ac8810bbb3642c9282e/bird.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bird","caption":"Bird","creditText":"Liz Bradford","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2965557/biggest-bird/","name":"Scientists: Biggest-Ever Bird Had Massive 20-Foot Wingspan"}}]}] ```