Many people have different beliefs about what a bird weighs. Some say that they weigh as much as 30 pounds, while others believe they are only 8 ounces. This article will get to the bottom of this question once and for all and finally answer the question “How Much Does a Bird Weigh?”
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I have always wondered what the weight of birds is, but I never knew that they were so light. Some people think that their favorite backyard visitors are lead balloons and some find them to be as light as a feather – but in reality, how much do your favorite bird truly weigh?
Common Birds in the US and Their Weights
| Bird | Weight (oz) | Weight (g) |
| Black-chinned Hummingbird | 0.1-0.2 | 2 – 6 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 0.6 – 0.9 | 17 – 26 |
| Sparrow | 0.4 | 13 |
| Goldfinch | 0.4 – 0.7 | 11 – 20 |
| Robin | 2.7-3.0 | 76 – 85 |
| Mourning Dove | 3.4 – 6.0 | 96 – 170 |
| Grackle | 2.6 – 5.0 | 73 – 142 |
| Woodpecker | 0.7 – 1.0 | 19 – 28 |
| Cardinal | 1.5 – 1.7 | 42 – 48 |
| European Starling | 2.1 – 3.4 | 59 – 96 |
| Bluebird | 1 – 1.1 | 28 – 32 |
| Swallow | 0.7 | 20 |
| Northern Flicker | 3.9 – 5.6 | 110 – 160 |
| Purple Finch | 0.6 – 1.1 | 17 – 32 |
| Gray Squirrel | 14 – 28.2 | 400 – 800 |
The Heaviest Birds in the World
The heavyweights among the birds are the Ostrich, Cassowary, and Emu. The heaviest bird ever lived was the Giant Elephant Bird which weighed in at 450 pounds.
The elephant bird is one of the largest members of an extinct family of birds called Aepyornithidae. The name, which means “Elephant Bird,” was given to them by European explorers because they were large enough that a grown man could ride on their back and use it as transportation through forests or up mountainsides without ever touching the ground! They became extinct around 1000 AD due to human activity including hunting for food and feathers. Elephant Birds are most closely related with kiwi (found only in New Zealand) suggesting that ratites did not diversify via vicariance during Gondwana’s breakup but instead evolved from ancestors who dispersed more widely across Asia before arriving at Madagascar long ago
It’s not just their weight that makes these three giants different from all other animals on earth: they have two toes instead of four; feathers rather than fur or hair; they fly by running (or hopping) along the ground with wings held outstretched like an ostrich or cassowary would do to break its fall if it accidentally slipped while landing.
| Bird | Weight (lb) | Weight (kg) |
| Common Ostrich | 104 | 230 |
| Somali Ostrich | 90 | 200 |
| Southern Cassowary | 45 | 99 |
| Jersey Giant Chicken | 20 | 35 |
Heaviest Bird that Can Fly
The heaviest bird that can fly is the Kori Bustard. This bird most often lives in Africa and weighs about 22 pounds with a wingspan of up to six feet – however, it is known that Kori bustards spend most of their time on the ground, with up to 70% of their time being on foot.
The next two birds on the list are both from New Zealand, which makes sense because they were once part of the super-continent Gondwana: A Southern Royal Albatross and an Ostrich (read more about the ostrich symbolism) weigh around 11 pounds each. It is always fascinating to hear the Albatross can go for years without touching land.
The Lightest Birds in the World
Being lightweight is a clear advantage when you want to fly. But which birds can claim the title of being the lightest in the world?
The record for the smallest bird on earth goes to a hummingbird (Bee Hummingbird), weighing just about three and a half grams with an average length of five inches long. This tiny little creature has feathers that are only one millimeter thick! And they have a wingspan ranging from four to six inches wide while making quick zig-zag patterns through trees as it feeds on nectar from flowers or sucks drops of water out of tree holes.
Another super-lightweight bird to mention is the Lesser Goldfinch; it is the smallest North American finch of its genus, Spinus. It may very well be the smallest true finch in the entire world with an average length of 3-4 inches and a weight of around 0.28 ounces (a mere one ounce).
The Andean siskin could beat it by just half an inch for titleholders as they range from between 3 to 4 inches but weigh only about 1/2 oz at most! However, this small size does not make them any less attractive or interesting; especially when you consider that many birds have been known to grow up to 5 times their adult body sizes during mating season which would leave these little fellows looking even cuter than before!
[Video] Hummingbird Babies Birth to Fledging the Nest | First Flight | Amazing!
How Much Does a Baby Bird Weigh?
Baby birds are also very small and light in weight because they don’t have much muscle yet to support their bodies as adult birds do. Bird muscles start developing when they’re still in the egg and continue growing after birth so that by adulthood, their wings can support them for flying from place to place! The feathers of young chicks only partially cover their naked little skin at this stage (if you’ve ever seen pictures of newborn chickens), but as soon as time passes these fluffy little babies grow up into big beautiful creatures with all kinds of feathery fluff protecting them against harsh weather conditions.
The weight obviously varies from species to species. A baby Cape Parrot for instance weighs 12 grams at birth. A Hummingbird chick weighs approximately 0.62 grams when born and the white non-glossy eggs are less than ½ inch long. Their small size is often compared to a jelly bean.
What Influences the Weight of a Bird?
There are many factors that affect the weight of a bird. These include:
- The size and shape of the bird’s body, which is different for each type;
- The species it belongs to – some birds live in cold environments so they need more feathers in order to stay warm while others have less dense plumage where heat loss isn’t as much of an issue;
- The amount or lack thereof of fat deposits on its body. Fat deposits help keep animals warm with insulation but also make them heavier than they might otherwise be without these reserves when food supplies are low.
When considering how much does a bird weighs, other important things to consider may be whether it has recently eaten.
Conclusion
The average weight of a bird is around three ounces. In general, the heavier the bird, the longer it lives and vice versa. Birds can also be classified by their weight classifications as light or heavy. Light-weight birds live an average of 20 years while heavy-weight birds only have an average life span of 10 years because they are more susceptible to injury from predators and other dangers in nature.
