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Published online 2 July 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news070702-3
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Giant bird was a glider
Argentavis soared rather than flapped over Argentina.
Scientists have modelled the flight of the world's largest flying bird — a 70-kilogram ancient avian behemoth with a 7-metre wingspan. The new models show that Argentavis magnificens, which was approximately the size of a modern-day Cessna 152 light aircraft, flew by gliding rather than by flapping its giant wings in the skies above Argentina 6 million years ago.
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