List of birds by flight speed

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Falco peregrinus has pointed long wings making it a heavy wing loading, and rapid wingbeats provide an energetically expensive high speed.
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This is a list of the fastest flying birds in the world. A bird's velocity is necessarily variable; a hunting bird will reach much greater speeds while diving to catch prey than when gliding. The bird with the greatest airspeed velocity is the peregrine falcon, able to exceed 320 km/h (200 mph) in its hunting dives.[1][2] The greatest self-powered horizontal flight speed is achieved by the white-throated needletail, capable of such speeds as 169 km/h (105 mph), typically during mating rituals.

Birds by flight speed

Common name Image Species Family Average horizontal speed Maximum horizontal speed Average diving speed Maximum airspeed Flight
Peregrine falcon Peregrine Falcon La Cañada.jpg Falco peregrinus Falconidae 65–90 km/h[3]
40-56 mph		 105–115 km/h[3]
65-71 mph		 400 km/h [4]
242 mph		 High speed dive - pointed long wings
Golden eagle 100px Aquila chrysaetos Accipitridae 45–51 km/h[5]
28-32 mph		 129 km/h[5]
80 mph		 241 km/h [6]
150 mph		 320 km/h[5]
200 mph
Grey-headed albatross 100px Thalassarche Chrysostoma Diomedeidae 127 km/h[7][8][note 1]
78.9 mph		 2.2m (7'2") wingspan allows for high power use from wind.
Gyrfalcon 100px Falco rusticolus Falconidae 80-110 km/h 50-68 mph 145 km/h 90 mph[9] 187–209 km/h [10]
116-130 mph		 209 km/h [10][11]
130 mph		 High speed dive - pointed long wings
White-throated needletail 100px Hirundapus caudacutus Apodidae 169 km/h[12]

[note 2]
105 mph

 High speed wings
Swift Apus apus 01.jpg Apus apus Apodidae [13] High speed wings
Eurasian hobby 100px Falco subbuteo Falconidae[14] Can sometimes outfly the swift
Frigatebird Magnificent-Frigate-male.jpg Fregata Fregatidae[15] Slow gliding/soaring high aspect ratio
Spur-winged goose Spur-winged Goose RWD4.jpg Plectropterus Anatidae[16] High speed wings
Red-breasted merganser 100px Mergus serrator Anatidae[17] High aspect ratio wings
Canvasback 100px Aythya valisineria Anatidae[18] High speed wings
Eider 100px Somateria mollissima Anatidae[19] High speed wings
Teal Flickr - Rainbirder - EurasianTeal in flight (cropped).jpg Anas crecca Anatidae High aspect ratio wings

Note

  1. ↑ Sustained ground speed for approximately nine hours with no rest on high tailwinds during an Antarctic storm.
  2. ↑ The British Broadcast Corporation warns from taking this value too seriously, as the methods employed to measure it have never been published, rendering its verification difficult.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Hobby, Falco subbuteo
  15. ↑ Animal Corner ; Sea Birds Frigate Bird Galapagos Sea Birds - The Great Frigate Bird and the Magnificent Frigate Bird
  16. ↑ Free find Spur-Winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis - Kenya Birds
  17. ↑ The cornell lab of Ornithology - Cornell University Bird Guide - Red-breasted Merganser
  18. ↑ Ducks Unlimited - Wet-lands conversation Canvasback
  19. ↑ Family XXXIX. ANATINAE. DUCKS. Family THE EIDER DUCK. [Common Eider.] Genus FULIGULA MOLLISSIMA, Linn. [Somateria mollissima.]


External links

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