Largest Bird of Prey

Birds of prey are typically characterized by their amazing hunting abilities - and that's the reason they are often seen doing some astounding acrobatics high in the sky. The characteristic 'swoop' is one of the most important part of their arsenal, something they use quite efficiently - at times clocking a speed of 100 mph, to take down their prey. Their colloquial name 'raptors' is derived from a Latin word 'rapere' - meaning 'take by force' or 'snatch'. When it comes to these birds, size does matter, as they don't just hunt down ground animal species but also take on various species of birds in mid-air. It's their wingspan which makes them swoop down at tremendous speeds when hunting. Larger the bird - more powerful it is. That's the simple rule of the thumb when it comes to birds of prey.

Birds of Prey

Birds of prey usually rely on their flight and keen senses, such as vision, for hunting. Even though they are most often seen hunting small vertebrates that they spot on ground, they are also known to take on other bird species in air. A large number of these birds are also known to feed on carrion - vultures being the best example of the same. Other than their astounding vision, these birds are also characterized by their powerful claws and beak. One of the best example of these birds of prey is the peregrine falcon - the fastest animal on Earth, which can see its prey from a distance of 8000 meters and swoop down on it at a speed of 200 mph. Other well-known diurnal birds of prey include species of eagles, hawks, kites, buzzards, vultures (both New World and Old World) etc., while nocturnal birds of prey include various owls belonging to the Strigidae and Tytonidae family. With so many raptors in contention, it may seem difficult to find out which is largest unless you carry out a detail study of their size and wingspan.

World's Largest Bird of Prey

Whist going through the above information, you must have realized that both - overall size and wingspan of these birds have a crucial role to play when it comes to hunting, and hence neither of the two can be ignored when trying to figure out which is the largest of the various birds of prey on the Earth. In terms of beak to tail length, the largest bird of prey in the world is the California Condor - with its average beak to tail length ranging between 43-55 inches. It belongs to the New World vulture family Cathartidae - which has some of the largest birds of prey to its credit. Inhabiting the mountains of California and northern Baja California, the California Condor is also the largest among the North American birds of prey. Other than being the largest, it is also one of the world's longest living bird species - with a lifespan of 50 years.

The distinction of being the world's largest bird of prey in terms of wingspan goes to the Andean Condor - with its wingspan ranging between 9.2 to 10.5 feet. As its name suggests, it is found near the Andes mountains and along the Pacific coast in South America. This member of the New World vulture family is typically characterized by its black coat with a ruff of white feathers behind its neck. Interestingly, it's also the heaviest bird of prey in the world - with some individuals weighing as much as 30 lbs being recorded in recent times, and one of the world's longest living birds like the California Condor - which is 5 inches longer than the Andean Condor in terms of beak to tail length. While the Andean Condor is enlisted as a Nearly Threatened species in The Red List compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the California Condor is enlisted in IUCNs Critically Endangered birds list.

Largest Bird Trivia: The Elephant Bird, which inhabited the continent of Africa at one point of time, was the largest bird to ever walk on the planet - with some individuals of these species standing 10 ft tall and weighing a whopping 1000lbs.

Owing to the fact that there are more than 500 species of birds of prey in the world, one can see a great deal of diversity in this group. When we talk about diversity, size is no exception. While the largest bird of prey is the California Condor with a length of 55 inches, the smallest is the Black-thighed Falconet found in Asia, with an average beak to tail length of 5.5-6.3 inches. That, however, doesn't make it less of a threat for various small species of birds with whom it shares its habitat.