It needed height to get airborne, but it could manage with surprisingly little.

Comparison with extant birds suggests it laid one or two eggs with a mass of somewhat over 1 kg (2.2 lb) (smaller than an ostrich egg) every two years. The several fossils found at the Andean foothills support his idea. Argentavis magnificens’ humerus was a bit shorter than an entire human arm. It’s a very energy-efficient style and today, eagles and vultures use it to great effect, sometimes covering hundreds of miles without a single wing flap. Argentavis, the Largest Flying Bird, Was a Master Glider, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2009/05/31/argentavis-the-largest-flying-bird-was-a-master-glider.html. Any heavier and it would have exceeded the maximum weight for safe gliding. Researchers believe that they were less aerodynamically suited for predation compared to their closest relatives. The heaviest living flier, the Great Kori Bustard, is over three times lighter than Argentavis, and even it can only take off after arduously ‘taxiing’ like a airplane. They had large feet and strong legs. Argentavis was beautifully adapted to take advantage of this large, open habitat, where it could travel across large distances in search of prey. Because of its efficient gliding, it could stay aloft using relatively slow drafts of wind. To put things in perspective, one of the largest flying birds alive today is the Andean Condor, which has a wingspan of nine feet and weighs about 25 pounds. As with its style of flight, paleontologists have made a lot of educated guesses about Argentavis, most of which, unfortunately, are not supported by direct fossil evidence. However, at this time, "terror birds" were still thick on the ground, including descendants of the slightly earlier Phorusrhacos and Kelenken. The Argentavis is an aggressive predator and scavenger but will only attack something that approaches it, attacks it, or gets in the way of a corpse it wants.

A flying animal the size of Argentavis presents some difficult issues, chief of which is how this prehistoric bird managed to a) launch itself off the ground and b) keep itself in the air once launched. It is believed that these birds occupied the skies over South America during the Late Miocene Period, about 6 million years ago.

Sankar Chatterjee from the Museum of Texas Tech University decided to model the giant’s flying style by running simulations with known fossils.
They are related to storks and New World vultures such as turkey vultures and condors. Fossil sample suggests that they were found in central and northwestern Argentina. So despite its enormity, Argentavis sailed through the air with as much grace as much smaller species like the buzzard or white stork. Argentavis was a member of an extinct group of predatory birds understandably called the teratorns – ‘monster birds’. But Argentavis completely dwarfed even the massive Andean condor, weighing six times more and with a wingspan over twice as long (in the picture below, its silhouette is placed next to a bald eagle for scale). Modern research says that it was an expert glider rather than a great flyer. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. It’s how it flew that palaeontologists have puzzled over, given its massive size in relation to modern birds. It is also worth mentioning that a closely related species, which was also as huge as Argentavis magnificens, lived long in North America’s west coast.

Even with this reliance of thermals, Argentavis was pushing the limits of even gliding flight. It was an early relative of Andean Condor.

It drops a variety of meat when killed, along with hide and the argentavis talon. By studying its skeleton, Chatterjee estimated the maximum amount of power that its flight muscles could have generated.

With a wingspan estimated at seven meters across,‭ ‬Argentavis was roughly twice the size of the largest flying bird today‭ (‬Wandering Albatross‭)‬,‭ ‬and only the long extinct pterosaurs could have rivalled and exceeded it for size.‭The genus Pelagornis is a possible contender to be roughly equal in size or slightly wider wingspan to Argentavis, depending upon accuracy of estimates. Argentavis magnificens inhabited an area of around 500 km2. It is believed that disease, accidents and old age might have led them to extinction. By these tokens, Argentavis is best compared not to other prehistoric birds, which tended to be much more modestly scaled, but to the huge pterosaurs that preceded it by 60 million years, notably the giant Quetzalcoatlus (which had a wingspan of up to 35 feet). PNAS doi.10.1073/pnas.0702040104. Even a gentle down-slope of 10° and a light headwind would have given it enough extra power to avoid an embarrassing crash. By comparison, the wingspan of Argentavis was comparable to that of a small plane--close to 25 feet from tip to tip--and it weighed anywhere between 150 and 250 pounds. The heaviest flying birds are known to weigh around 46 pounds, such as the African kori bustard and European great bustard and the mute swan that briefly lost its power of flight because of its weight. Argentavis Magnificens or Giant Teratorn (Extinct) Argentavis magnificens (literally "magnificent Argentine bird") is the largest flying bird ever discovered.

This bird laid one or two eggs (weighed around 2.2 pounds each) in every two years. For example, analogy with similarly built modern birds suggests that Argentavis laid very few eggs (perhaps an average of only one or two per year), which were carefully brooded by both parents, and presumably not subject to frequent predation by hungry mammals. They inhabited the earth 6 million years ago, during the late Miocene.

All rights reserved. He found that Argentavis simply couldn’t have generated enough lift from a running-take-off. The aerodynamics of Argentavis, the world’s largest flying bird from the Miocene of Argentina. Your email address will not be published.

Published on June 16th 2015 by admin under Birds. 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC.

When the bird switched from the mountains to the wide, open spaces of the pampas, it switched to a different method – thermal soaring, where rising columns of hot air provided it with lift. Even though they had huge wings, still they did not have the stamina to flap them continuously and generate enough lift. As scavengers, they are also attracted by dead bodies from … Argentavis magnificens was one of the largest flying birds ever known. It is a highly territorial creature, willing to chase players long distances if they get too close. Six million years ago, Argentina was much hotter and drier than it is today – just the weather needed for generating the powerful thermals needed to lift such a large bird. Argentavis - the largest bird in the history | DinoAnimals.com Argentavis (Greek for "Argentina bird"); pronounced ARE-jen-TAY-viss. Some researchers believe that this bird had a much wider range than what has been currently discovered. Six million years ago, the skies of Argentina were home to fearsome predator – Argentavis magnificens, the largest bird to ever take to the air. Despite its large size, Chatterjee calculated that Argentavis was manoeuvrable enough to manage the tight circular turns needed to stay within a thermal column. Chatterjee calculated its top speed at about 70 km/h, allowing it scan vast tracts of land for prey. It is likely that they incubated during winter. Just how big was Argentavis?

They hardly went through any predation.

Mortality rate was also very low. ", Doedicurus: The Giant Prehistoric Armadillo, The Miocene Epoch (23-5 Million Years Ago).

Instead, Chatterjee believes that Argentavis was a master glider. There is no question that Argentavis flew. Pairs exchanged duties for incubating and securing food for days. They had large feet and strong legs. Required fields are marked *. It has all the characteristics of modern flyers including light, hollow bones and strong, sturdy wings.

Popcorn-like cumulus clouds betray the location of thermals, and by circling around one, Argentavis could have risen through the air, giving itself enough height to soar to the next thermal.

. Albatrosses and hang-glider pilots use the same technique today. And while substantial, it was still 3.5 times less than the minimum amount of power needed to fly.