The Most Dangerous Birds In The World

Most bird species are harmless, although there is a handful that can seriously injure or even kill you.  And while the chances you’ll have a run-in with an aggressive winged beast is low, for safety’s sake (or your own curiosity) you’ll want to know more. So here’s a list of some of the most dangerous birds in the world.

Emu

The national bird of Australia, the emu has some of the most powerful legs in the animal kingdom. And attached to those legs are three-toed feet with thick pads and large claws. When this huge flightless Australian bird feels cornered or is under attack it will jump, kick, and rip at the threat.

Male emus in particular are highly defensive of their young. Because this dangerous bird is farmed and widely kept in zoos and animal parks around the world there are many attacks on people each year. Yet while emus have killed humans, most people escape an angry emu with only minor injuries.

Ostrich

Standing up to an intimidating nine feet tall, the ostrich is the world’s largest bird. It is a flightless species that inhabit deserts and savannas in Africa. The ostrich has long and powerful legs that allow it to run amazingly fast when it needs to escape hungry predators.

However, it will also use its legs and two-toed feet, each equipped with a long claw, as a weapon to kick and slash at threats. And that kick is powerful enough to kill a full-grown lion. While ostriches do kill humans in self-defense it is a rare occurrence.

Most ostrich attacks aren’t fatal and happen when the bird has been provoked. (Although anyone who purposely annoys a nine-foot-tall bird that can kill a lion with a single kick might be asking for trouble.)

Cassowary

The cassowary is a giant flightless bird, found in Southeast Asia and Australia. It has a distinct blue head that has a horn-like casque on top. Like the emu and ostrich, the cassowary has strong legs and kicks when it feels threatened. However, what sets the cassowary apart from the competition are its fearsome claws.

Each of its feet has three toes, and each toe has a sharp claw. The claws on its inner toes are especially dangerous. These dagger-like claws are longer than the others and can reach up to 5 inches in length. When the bird leaps up and kicks with them they can pierce organs, disembowel, and kill both animals and humans.

This lethal defense has earned all three species of cassowary the official title of “the most dangerous bird in the world,” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet while there have been two deaths caused by cassowaries in the last hundred years or so, one in Australia and one in the United States, your chances of finding let alone being harmed by this shy fruit-eating bird are close to none.

Bearded Vulture

Native to southern Europe, northwest Africa, and northeast China this bearded bird is famous for its scary-looking and almost dragon-like appearance. However, despite its menacing looks, the bearded vulture is a scavenger and it’s actually the bird’s diet and feeding behavior that make it a threat to humans.

The bearded vulture mainly eats bones. And in order to break the bones and get to the marrow inside, it will drop them from great heights onto flat rocks below. Although the odds of getting hit and being killed by one of these bones are astronomical (you’re much more likely to be taken out by a falling coconut) there is at least one story of death by a bearded vulture.

The Greek playwright Aeschylus, often recognized as the father of tragedy, is said to have been killed in Gela, Sicily by this dangerous bird.  The story goes that the vulture seeing his shiny bald head from high above mistook it for a rock. And when it dropped the tortoise shell it was clutching in an attempt to break it open on that “rock,” Aeschylus was killed by the impact.

Crowned Eagle

The idea of most eagles snatching toddlers may be far-fetched. However, the idea of the crowned eagle snatching infants or even young kids is not. Found in sub-Saharan Africa the crowned eagle has exceedingly large talons. And it is widely considered to be the most powerful eagle on the African continent.

This species is actually the only bird in the world whose diet is mainly made up of primates as it specializes in hunting monkeys. It may also kill and eat primates as large as baboons and animals as big as antelopes.

A National Geographic study reported that this species does occasionally attack and eat human children. And the remains of at least one human infant’s skull have been found in a crowned eagle’s nest by researchers leading to an obvious conclusion.  In other words, this dangerous bird does at least occasionally view human children as prey.

Great Horned Owl

While it may not be the biggest bird of prey, the great horned owl is easily one of the most fearsome predators of the Americas. Despite only weighing around 3 pounds on average (although it does look much larger) it can carry off prey up to four times its weight.

You won’t hear this owl coming since it is totally silent when in flight, and it attacks with razor-sharp talons that are designed to sever the spine and pierce the organs of its prey causing death. It’s no coincidence that it is also referred to as the tiger owl! Although it does eat smaller animals, the great horned owl is known to hunt animals as big as raccoons, bobcats, and Canada geese. Falcons, hawks, and even other owls are on the menu too.

In rare instances, these dangerous birds have been known to attack man in the defense of their nest. A much more common occurrence however is them grabbing and flying away with pets. Given the opportunity, great horned owls will readily take cats and small dogs (under 20 pounds) that are left outside and unattended.

Start Shopping for Birding Supplies!