Animals
How wide is a wandering albatross’s wingspan?
A wandering albatross is 3.5 m · 11.5 ft wide, wingtip to wingtip.
Wandering albatross at true scale
- Wandering albatross 3.5 m · 11.5 ft
- Average US man 1.75 m · 5.74 ft
- Velociraptor 1.8 m · 5.91 ft
- Polar bear 1.7 m · 5.58 ft
Wandering albatross (blue) beside the average US man, a Velociraptor and a polar bear, all on one scale.
The wandering albatross has the widest wingspan of any bird: about 3.5 m, according to Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, with a body 110 to 135 cm long. Its wings span as far as two average US men are tall.
Compared with familiar things
- A wandering albatross is about 2.0× the average US man (1.75 m · 5.74 ft).
- A wandering albatross is about 1.9× a Velociraptor (1.8 m · 5.91 ft).
- A wandering albatross is about 2.1× a polar bear (1.7 m · 5.58 ft).
- A wandering albatross is about 86% of a Volkswagen Beetle 1300 (4.07 m · 13.4 ft).
Can you guess it by eye?
Play five comparisons featuring a wandering albatross: resize each object beside a fixed reference, then see how close you were. No sign-up needed.
Play five comparisonsWhat is measured
Wingspan: 3.5 m · 11.5 ft. Western Australia DBCA: wingspan of about 3.5 metres, the widest of any bird.
Source: WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions — Albatrosses. Checked 2026-09-28. The silhouette is scaled so this measurement is exact; its other proportions are illustrative.