We grew them big back then

We have some large birds. Hawks, eagles. But theSouthern Royal Albatross largest is the Southern Royal Albatross. With a wingspan of over 3 meters, it is the largest bird alive.

Today, that is.

Long ago (25 – 28 million years ago), the Pelagornis sandersi had a wingspan of over 7 meters, almost 24 feet. That’s a large bird. The previous record holder had a wingspan of over 4 meters. P. sandersi was probably a glider — it couldn’t take off from just flapping its wings. It probably ran downhill or into a headwind to get aloft.