(lost post trying again)

I came across the two biggest ever flying birds today.

Argentavis was the heaviest and has a skeletal wingspan of 4 metres.

Pelagornis had the largest wingspan. It was a toothed bird related to the gannet and cormorant.

An amusing sidelight is that the largest Pelagornis was discovered – wait for it – at an airport.

The only known fossil of P. sandersi was first uncovered in 1983 at Charleston International Airport, South Carolina, discovered by James Malcom, while working construction building a new terminal there. At the time the bird lived, 25 million years ago, global temperatures were higher, and the area where it was discovered was an ocean.

Reconstruction of Argentavis

mollwollfumble said:

(lost post trying again)

I came across the two biggest ever flying birds today.

Argentavis was the heaviest and has a skeletal wingspan of 4 metres.

Pelagornis had the largest wingspan. It was a toothed bird related to the gannet and cormorant.

An amusing sidelight is that the largest Pelagornis was discovered – wait for it – at an airport.

The only known fossil of P. sandersi was first uncovered in 1983 at Charleston International Airport, South Carolina, discovered by James Malcom, while working construction building a new terminal there. At the time the bird lived, 25 million years ago, global temperatures were higher, and the area where it was discovered was an ocean.

Reconstruction of Argentavis

Would higher temperatures mean more and stronger atmospheric thermals allowing something this large to fly

Cymek said:

mollwollfumble said:

(lost post trying again)

I came across the two biggest ever flying birds today.

Argentavis was the heaviest and has a skeletal wingspan of 4 metres.

Pelagornis had the largest wingspan. It was a toothed bird related to the gannet and cormorant.

An amusing sidelight is that the largest Pelagornis was discovered – wait for it – at an airport.

The only known fossil of P. sandersi was first uncovered in 1983 at Charleston International Airport, South Carolina, discovered by James Malcom, while working construction building a new terminal there. At the time the bird lived, 25 million years ago, global temperatures were higher, and the area where it was discovered was an ocean.

Reconstruction of Argentavis

Would higher temperatures mean more and stronger atmospheric thermals allowing something this large to fly

Or perhaps the higher temperatures mean that the muscles are less cold so requiring less energy to warm up in the morning. Or the higher temperatures may affect atmospheric oxygen availability.

Lots of hypotheses are possible.