In the ancient past, there certainly were some very large birds living in North America. In 1983, during construction work at Charleston International Airport, South Carolina, the fossil of an unknown bird was discovered. It was named Pelagornis sandersi and found to be the only example discovered thus far of that particular species of prehistoric bird, a distant relative of today’s pelican. The startling thing about Pelagornis sandersi was its sheer size: it had a wingspan of almost 25 feet, making it the largest flying bird yet discovered.
