Longest wingspan of any living bird

What to remember

No living bird spreads longer wings than the snowy albatross (Diomedea exulans): from tip to tip, its wingspan can reach 3.7 m (12 ft).

Also called the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross or goonie, it is the largest species of albatross, a seabird of the family Diomedeidae with a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was long considered the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross, and together with the Amsterdam albatross it forms the wandering albatross species complex.

Those huge wings go with a life spent far out at sea: the snowy albatross is one of the most far-ranging birds. In size, its closest match within the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea is the southern royal albatross.