The albatross has a wingspan that is wider than the height of a basketball hoop.

As you might expect, albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any bird on earth at up to 11 feet! This means that they could easily touch the rim of a basketball hoop with one wing while the other touched the court below! The largest species of the 12 known types of this bird is called the wandering albatross. These birds use their massive width to float on ocean wind gusts, sometimes gliding for hours on end without ever having to flap their wings! They also have been known to live for as long as 50 years. It is not difficult to see why one species is called “wandering” either - albatrosses only take to the land when it is time for them to mate.

Read more facts about albatrosses.