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According to Guinness World Records, the ostrich, a flightless native of Africa, has the longest legs of any living bird.
This large wading bird is found in wetland habitats throughout most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands.
Endemic to Africa, the secretary bird has the longest legs of any raptor. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified this species as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The great egret is a graceful member of the heron family. It's distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world.
Native to coastal regions of the Americas, the tricolored heron is named for its blue-black head, yellowish bill, and white belly.
Listed as Endangered by the IUCN, the whooping crane is so called because of its whooping-like call. It's the fifth largest extant species of crane in the world, and the tallest bird native to North America, standing anywhere from 1.24 to 1.6 m (4 ft 1 in to 5 ft 3 in) in height.
A resident of North and South America, this vibrant wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family is noted for its rose-pink plumage, equally colorful legs, and elongated spatulated bill.
The limpkin is a medium-sized wading bird found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks, the bird's lanky legs featuring large toes lending this species an odd gait.
One of the natural world's most iconic bird species, the flamingo can measure between 80 to 125 cm (31.5-49 in), depending on the species. The greater flamingo is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family.
There are four species of avocet. The pied avocet (pictured), a migratory bird, can be found in Central Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. In the United Kingdom, the pied avocet is the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Easily identified for its massive bill, colored red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"), this large stork has extremely long legs that can measure up to 36.5 cm (14.4 in) in length. It's found across sub-Saharan Africa.
Standing up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall, the gray heron is native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It's often spotted standing dead still in water, poised to strike its prey with a deadly thrust of its slender but deadly bill.
Listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN, the reddish egret is a resident breeder in Central America, the Bahamas, Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico. It's a highly active member of the heron family, given to bold, rapacious, yet graceful feeding behavior.
This sandhill crane chick has a long way to go before it achieves the lofty height of its parent. Indeed, the average height of these birds is around 80 to 136 cm (2 ft 7 in to 4 ft 6 in). Sandhill cranes are native to North America and extreme northeastern Siberia.
Endemic to Australia, the emu is the second-largest living bird by height after the ostrich. Their long and powerful legs enable them to sprint 48 km/h (30 mph) when necessary.
A picture of grace and elegance, the snowy egret makes short thrift of wetland habitats, its long legs and bright yellow feet wading easily through river, lake, and estuary shallows. It's native to North, Central, and South America.
Found across sub-Saharan Africa, this attractive wading bird is identified by its long toes and long claws attached to a pair of elongated legs. This enables it to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, a preferred habitat.
White storks like nothing better than to glide and spiral on hot thermals, and can be seen doing so across large parts of the globe. Another tall bird species, their legs are especially accentuated in flight, extended as they are well beyond their short tail.
A large heavy member of the stork family, the jabiru is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America. When walking, its long spindly legs lends the jabiru a rather clumsy appearance, though its supremely powerful and surprisingly graceful in flight.
Sources: (Guinness World Records) (IUCN Red List) (RSPB)
See also: Beautiful images of birds in flight
One of the most striking members of its family, scarlet ibises have near-color coordinated plumage, bills, and feet. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean, and spends most of its time wading through water.
This small wader is widespread across much of Africa. It's also found in India, Australia, and pockets of Southeast Asia. Its distinguished by a long fine bill and very long yellowish legs.
Appearing as if having waded through mustard, the greater yellowlegs is a large North American shorebird noted for its long, bright yellow shanks.
The long-billed curlew can also boast lengthy shanks. In fact, it is the largest member of the sandpiper family of regular occurrence in North America.
A large wading bird with a long bill, a long neck, and long legs, the black-tailed godwit is a shorebird found in Iceland, Europe, and areas of Central Asia. The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened.
Native to subarctic regions but escaping the bitter cold by wintering in Africa, the common greenshank is a close relative of the greater yellowlegs and shares its physical characteristics, including the requisite long bill and legs.
A small wader of the shanks family, the wood sandpiper is dainty in dimensions but has disproportionately long legs—an asset it puts to good use when foraging subarctic freshwater wetlands.
You're likely to spot this medium-sized member of the curlew family in warm, flower-flecked African bushland as much as the cold blustery shores of subarctic Asia and Europe, depending on the time of year. As with all waders, it's distinguished by longs legs and a fine, elongated bill.
A pair of long red legs elevate the black stork over its foraging grounds, large marshy wetlands set in secluded woodland. A widespread but uncommon species, this large bird can be found as far afield as Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indian subcontinent.
However, Guinness World Records also notes that the bird with the longest legs relative to its body size is the widely distributed black-winged stilt. Its bright pink pins measure 17-24 cm (7-9 in), which is up to 60% of its total 35-40 cm (14-16 in) body length.
The spotted redshank has even longer legs than its cousin, the common redshank. Breeding across Arctic regions, this species is naturally named for its red shanks which are perfectly adapted for seashore wading.
Birdlife is unique in its color and variety, of course. But one outstanding feature of many bird species is their height, which often means having some of the longest legs relative to size in the animal kingdom. But what are the leggiest birds in the world?
Click through and admire some of the shapeliest shanks on the planet.
Towering and majestic: meet the world’s tallest birds
Birdlife with the longest legs
LIFESTYLE Wildlife
Birdlife is unique in its color and variety, of course. But one outstanding feature of many bird species is their height, which often means having some of the longest legs relative to size in the animal kingdom. But what are the leggiest birds in the world?
Click through and admire some of the shapeliest shanks on the planet.