bird several hundred feet away can look enormous if its wings are fully spread.
And if the observer is already surprised by the sight, the brain may interpret the unusual silhouette as something much larger than it really is.
This is especially true when the bird is moving.
The observer has only a few seconds to judge:
How high it is
How far away it is
How wide itswings are
How fast it is moving
What species it might be IdentifyPlants
Those estimates can easily be