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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]

Birds by flying speed

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Common name Image Species Family Average horizontal speed Maximum horizontal speed Maximum airspeed Remark
Peregrine falcon 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 Falconidae 150 km/h
93 mph[6]
320 km/h
200 mph[7] 		High-speed dive—pointed long wings
Golden eagle 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 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 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 Hirundapus caudacutus Apodidae 169 km/h
105 mph[3]

[note 2]

169 km/h
105 mph 		High-speed wings
Common swift Apus apus Apodidae [13] 111.6 km/h
69.3 mph[3] 		166 km/h
103 mph 		High-speed wings
Eurasian hobby 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 Fregata Fregatidae[15] 153 km/h
95 mph 		Slow gliding/soaring high aspect ratio
Spur-winged goose Plectropterus Anatidae[16] 143 km/h
89 mph 		High-speed wings
Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator Anatidae[17] 130 km/h
81 mph 		High–aspect ratio wings
Canvasback Aythya valisineria Anatidae[18] 128 km/h
80 mph 		High-speed wings
Common eider Somateria mollissima Anatidae[19] 123 km/h
76 mph 		High-speed wings
Eurasian teal Anas crecca Anatidae 97 km/h
60 mph 		High–aspect ratio wings
Anna's hummingbird Calypte anna Trochilidae 56 km/h
35 mph[20] 		70 km/h
43 mph 		Rapidly-beating wings

See also

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Note

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  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]

References

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  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. ^ a b c Bourton, Jody (2 March 2010). "Supercharged swifts take flight speed record". BBC Earth News. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c 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 A.; Croxall, John P. (2004-10-01). "Sustained Fast Travel by a Gray-Headed Albatross (Thalassarche Chrysostoma) Riding an Antarctic Storm". The Auk. 121 (4): 1208–1213. doi:10.1093/auk/121.4.1208. ISSN 1938-4254.
  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.
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