List of birds by flight 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 flying horizontally. The bird that can achieve the greatest airspeed is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), able to exceed 320 km/h (200 mph) in its dives. [1] [2] A close relative of the common swift, the white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus), is commonly reported as the fastest bird in level flight with a reported top speed of 169 km/h (105 mph). This record remains unconfirmed as the measurement methods have never been published or verified. The record for the fastest confirmed level flight by a bird is 111.5 km/h (69.3 mph) held by the common swift. [3]

Contents

Birds by flying speed

Common nameImageSpeciesFamilyAverage horizontal speedMaximum horizontal speedMaximum airspeedRemark
Peregrine falcon Peregrine Falcon La Canada.jpg Falco peregrinus Falconidae 65–90 km/h
40–56 mph [4]
110 km/h
68 mph [4]
389 km/h
242 mph [5]
High-speed dive—pointed long wings
Saker falcon Falco cherrug (Marek Szczepanek).jpg Falco cherrug Falconidae 150 km/h
93 mph [6]
320 km/h
200 mph [7]
High-speed dive—pointed long wings
Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos USFWS.jpg Aquila chrysaetos Accipitridae 45–51 km/h
28–32 mph [8]
129 km/h
80 mph [8]
322 km/h
200 mph [8]
Grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma - SE Tasmania.jpg Thalassarche Chrysostoma Diomedeidae 127 km/h
79 mph [9] [10] [note 1]
2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) wingspan allows for high power use from wind.
Gyrfalcon Gyr falcon - Falco rusticolus - Falki 8.jpg Falco rusticolus Falconidae 80–100 km/h
50–62 mph
145 km/h
90 mph [11]
187–209 km/h
116–130 mph [12]
High-speed dive—pointed long wings
White-throated needletail White-throated Needletail kobble jan05.jpg Hirundapus caudacutus Apodidae 169 km/h
105 mph [3]

[note 2]

169 km/h
105 mph
High-speed wings
Common swift Apus apus 01.jpg Apus apusApodidae [13] 111.6 km/h
69.3 mph [3]
166 km/h
103 mph
High-speed wings
Eurasian hobby Hobby (Falco subbuteo) (2).jpg Falco subbuteo Falconidae [14] 159 km/h
99 mph
Can sometimes outfly the swift as it eats them and catches them on the wing.
Frigatebird Magnificent-Frigate-male.jpg FregataFregatidae [15] 153 km/h
95 mph
Slow gliding/soaring high aspect ratio
Spur-winged goose Spur-winged Goose RWD4.jpg Plectropterus Anatidae [16] 143 km/h
89 mph
High-speed wings
Red-breasted merganser Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) (11).JPG Mergus serrator Anatidae [17] 130 km/h
81 mph
High–aspect ratio wings
Canvasback Canvasaback (Aythya valisineria) RWD2.jpg Aythya valisineria Anatidae [18] 128 km/h
80 mph
High-speed wings
Common eider Bristol.zoo.common.eider.arp.jpg Somateria mollissima Anatidae [19] 123 km/h
76 mph
High-speed wings
Eurasian teal Flickr - Rainbirder - EurasianTeal in flight (cropped).jpg Anas crecca Anatidae 97 km/h
60 mph
High–aspect ratio wings
Anna's hummingbird Anna's hummingbird.jpg Calypte anna Trochilidae 56 km/h
35 mph [20]
70 km/h
43 mph
Rapidly-beating wings

See also

Note

  1. Sustained ground speed for approximately nine hours with no rest on high tailwinds during an Antarctic storm.
  2. The BBC warns against taking this value too seriously, as the methods employed to measure it have never been published, rendering its verification difficult.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon</span> Birds of prey in the genus Falco

Falcons are birds of prey in the genus Falco, which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falconidae</span> Family of birds

The falcons and caracaras are around 65 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family likely originated in South America during the Paleocene and is divided into three subfamilies: Herpetotherinae, which includes the laughing falcon and forest falcons; Polyborinae, which includes the spot-winged falconet and the caracaras; and Falconinae, the falcons and kestrels (Falco) and falconets (Microhierax).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peregrine falcon</span> Fastest known animal and common bird of prey

The peregrine falcon, also known simply as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed. It can reach over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop, making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph). As is typical for bird-eating (avivore) raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falconry</span> Hunting with a trained bird of prey

Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person involved in falconry: a "falconer" flies a falcon; an "austringer" keeps Goshawks and uses accipiters for hunting. In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk, Harris's hawk, and the peregrine falcon are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking", although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. However, many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merlin (bird)</span> Species of bird

The merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of 53–58 centimetres (21–23 in), with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters which specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to quail. The merlin has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird. In recent decades merlin populations in North America have been significantly increasing, with some merlins becoming so well adapted to city life that they forgo migration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common eider</span> Species of bird

The common eider, also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to 113 km/h (70 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleonora's falcon</span> Species of bird

Eleonora's falcon is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem to be close sister species. The English name and the species name eleonorae commemorate Eleanor of Arborea, Queen or Lady-Judge and national heroine of Sardinia, who in 1392, under the jurisdiction conferred by the Carta de Logu, became the first ruler in history to grant protection to hawk and falcon nests against illegal hunters. The genus name falco is from Late Latin falx, falcis, a sickle, referring to the claws of the bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanner falcon</span> Bird of prey

The lanner falcon is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A large falcon, it preys on birds and bats. Most likely either the lanner or peregrine falcon was the sacred species of falcon to the ancient Egyptians, and some ancient Egyptian deities, like Ra and Horus, were often represented as a man with the head of a lanner falcon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbary falcon</span> Subspecies of bird

The Barbary falcon is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a crow. This bird of prey is mainly resident. It ranges from the Canary Islands eastwards across some parts of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saker falcon</span> Species of bird

The saker falcon is a large falcon species. It breeds from Central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is a partial migrant, which means that some part of the population is migratory, some part is not. In Europe, for example, a part of the juveniles are migrating, while adults are mostly resident. The European and West Asian migratory sakers spend the winter in the Sahel region. On migration, they cross the Middle East, the Arabian peninsula, and Pakistan, where they are exposed to illegal trapping. The migratory birds to the east from Altai Mountains spend the winter in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie falcon</span> Species of bird

The prairie falcon is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40 in), and average weight of 720 g (1.6 lb). As in all falcons, females are noticeably bigger than males. Though a separate species from the peregrine, the prairie falcon is basically an arid environment divergence of the early peregrine falcon lineage, able to subsist on less food than the peregrine, and generally lighter in weight than a peregrine of similar wing span. Having evolved in a harsh desert environment with low prey density, the prairie falcon has developed into an aggressive and opportunistic hunter of a wide range of both mammal and bird prey. It will regularly take prey from the size of sparrows to approximately its own weight, and occasionally much larger. It is the only larger falcon native only to North America. It is resident from southern Canada, through western United States, and into northern Mexico. The prairie falcon is popular as a falconry bird, where with proper training it is regarded as being as effective as the more well known peregrine falcon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aplomado falcon</span> Species of bird

The aplomado falcon is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest continuous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer to the bat falcon. Its resemblance in shape to the hobbies accounts for its old name orange-chested hobby. Aplomado is an unusual Spanish word for "lead-colored", referring to the blue-grey areas of the plumage – an approximate English translation would be "plumbeous falcon". Spanish names for the species include halcón aplomado and halcón fajado ; in Brazil it is known as falcão-de-coleira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taita falcon</span> Species of bird

The Taita falcon is a small falcon found in central and eastern Africa. It was first described from the Taita Hills of Kenya from which it derives its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black falcon</span> Falcon species

The black falcon is a medium-large falcon that is endemic to Australia. It can be found in all mainland states and territories and yet is regarded as Australia's most under-studied falcon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hierofalcon</span> Subgenus of birds

The hierofalcons are four closely related species of falcon which make up the subgenus Hierofalco:

This is a list of the fauna of Finland. Finland borders Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland, allowing an ecological mix. Finland contains many species of mammals, birds, and fish, but only a few reptiles and amphibians. This article discusses all the vertebrate animals which can be found on Finland itself, not the oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gyrfalcon</span> Species of bird

The gyrfalcon, the largest of the falcon genus, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resident there also, but some gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter. Individual vagrancy can take birds for long distances. Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark brown. These colour variations are called morphs. Like other falcons, it shows sexual dimorphism, with the female much larger than the male. For centuries, the gyrfalcon has been valued as a hunting bird. Typical prey includes the ptarmigan and waterfowl, which it may take in flight; it also takes fish and mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaheen falcon</span> Subspecies of bird

The shaheen falcon is a non-migratory subspecies of the peregrine falcon found mainly in India It has also been described as a migratory subspecies. Other common names for the subspecies include the black shaheen. The word shaheen in these names may also be spelled as shahin. This species was termed as the black shaheen by falconers to separate it from the true shaheen of Persian literature. Scholars of Persian and the Russian ornithologist Georgi Petrovich Dementiev have noted that the name shaheen in Persian literature actually referred to Falco peregrinus babylonicus.

This is a list of the fastest animals in the world, by types of animal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bird wing</span> Paired forelimb that allows birds to fly

Bird wings are a paired forelimb in birds. The wings give the birds the ability to fly, creating lift.

References

  1. "Basic Facts About Peregrine Falcon". Defenders of Wildlife. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (January 15, 2008). "All About the Peregrine Falcon". Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Bourton, Jody (2 March 2010). "Supercharged swifts take flight speed record". BBC Earth News. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Fastest on Earth: Malik fuel". Extreme Science. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  5. Harpole, Tom (March 2005). "Falling with the Falcon". Air & Space magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  6. "The Saker Falcon in Austria" . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  7. "Saker Falcon". 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Kirschbaum, Kari; Ivory, Alicia (2002). "Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle". The Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  9. "Guinness Records - Fastest Bird Level Flight". Guinness World Records Limited. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  10. Catry, Paulo; Phillips, Richard (13 May 2004). "Sustained fast travel by a gray-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) riding an antarctic storm". The Auk. 121 (4): 1208. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[1208:SFTBAG]2.0.CO;2.
  11. "Gyrfalcon - Animal Ark".
  12. Tucker, V. A.; Cade, T. J.; Tucker, A. E. (July 1998). "Diving speeds and angles of a gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 201: 2061–2070. PMID   9622578.
  13. "swifts". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  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.]
  20. Clark, C. J.; Dudley, R. (2009). "Flight costs of long, sexually selected tails in hummingbirds". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 276 (1664): 2109–2115. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0090. PMC   2677254 . PMID   19324747.