The fastest bird on earth. The fastest bird in the world

The fastest birds on the planet

Birds are warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates. Their entire body is covered with feathers, and the vast majority of their forelimbs are transformed into wings. About 11 thousand species of birds live in the world, they inhabit all ecosystems the globe, including Antarctica. Different types very different from each other in appearance, size and habits. For example, the smallest bird in the world is a hummingbird, it weighs only one and a half grams and is the only one of all birds that can fly backwards, the largest bird in the world is an African ostrich, it is as tall as a person and weighs up to 160 kg, the most vigilant bird on the planet is a falcon , which is able to see the mouse from a height of 3.5 km. Which bird is the fastest? The article will tell about it.

peregrine falcon

This is not a very large bird, it is comparable in size to an ordinary crow, an active predator, belongs to the falcon family. The peregrine falcon can be found all over the world, except for Antarctica. This falcon has a contrasting plumage color: its head and upper body are slate-black, the lower back and wings are gray, and the abdomen is whitish.

The peregrine falcon mainly hunts small birds ─ pigeons, starlings, ducks, less often small mammals become its prey. It is just during the hunt that the falcon develops a record speed in the animal kingdom ─ 325 km / h or 90 m / s! Not a single animal is able to move at such a speed, so the peregrine falcon is not only the most fast bird in the world, but also the fastest creature on the ground. He hunts in a very peculiar way: he plans in the sky, looking for prey; having outlined a victim for himself, at an angle of 90 ° rapidly dives down, accelerating in vertical flight to maximum speed; having reached the victim, the peregrine falcon strikes it with its paws on a tangent, the prey immediately dies from the blow. A blow with strong falcon claws at such a super speed is so strong that even large game heads often fly off. Peregrine Falcons are very loyal birds. They create couples for life. Most often they nest on the tops of steep slopes, 3-5 chicks hatch in one season.

Another fastest bird on the planet is the golden eagle from the hawk family. This is a large and strong bird, its body length reaches 95 cm, wingspan ─ ​​200-240 cm. They have a hook-shaped beak, long and wide wings, keen eyes, powerful paws with very strong claws. The color of the golden eagle is dark brown with golden markings on the back of the head and neck. characteristic feature golden eagle is the presence of a superciliary fold, which gives the bird a formidable "frown" look.

This is the most ruthless and swift predator in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth. Its victims are not only hares, partridges, field mice and ground squirrels, but sheep, calves, roe deer and even young deer. Looking out for prey, the golden eagle soars in the sky for a long time, and having noticed the prey, it rapidly "falls" on the victim at a speed of 300-320 km/h! Rushing even faster than a Ferrari!

A small bird, whose body length rarely reaches 35 cm, and its weight does not exceed 250 grams, belongs to the falcon family. Its habitat is very wide ─ almost the entire continent of Eurasia and part of North Africa. Prefers rare light woods with an open panorama.

The head and backs of the hobby are dark gray, the breast and belly are white with numerous gray streaks, the cheeks and throat are pure white, black stripes go down from the beak, which resemble a mustache, the paws are “dressed in pants” of a red color. The wings and tail are white below, with broad black stripes above.

The hobby also claims the title of "the fastest bird in the world", as it accelerates up to 250 km / h while hunting for large flying insects and small birds.

The fourth place in the ranking of the fastest birds in the world is occupied by swifts. In total, there are about 80 species of these birds, but they are very similar to each other in appearance and lifestyle. Swift is a small bird weighing 70-140 grams, ubiquitous, its feathers are painted black, dark gray or dark brown with a metallic tint. It has a sharp beak, weak legs, a straight or forked tail and long curved wings. In appearance, the swift is very similar to the swallow. In one hour, he is able to overcome 160-170 km. In horizontal flight, no other bird, even a peregrine falcon, will overtake a swift.

Interestingly, this fast-flying bird spends most of its life in flight. Swifts feed, bathe, mate and even sleep in the air! The swift sleeps in a particularly unusual way: it soars sluggishly in the sky, waking up every 5 seconds to flap its wings. Sometimes the swift in a dream carries the wind away from the nesting place, but at dawn, finally waking up, he quickly finds his way home.

These birds settle almost everywhere: in the mountains, and in the forest, and in the steppe, and in the desert, and in the city. They nest and hatch chicks in Europe and Central and North Asia, but they go to India and Africa for the winter.

The fifth fastest bird is the grey-headed albatross. This is a big sea ​​bird, which is settled on isolated islands near Antarctica. She spends most of her time in the open ocean far from the coastline. They feed on squid, fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, lampreys and krill. For prey, the albatross can dive to a depth of seven meters. He is also able to fly over very long distances, while developing a speed of 150 km / h, which gives them the right to be called one of the fastest birds on earth.

These birds have very interesting feature: They can accumulate fat in the upper compartment of the stomach. The bird feeds it to its chicks, satisfies its own hunger during long flights and spits it at enemies.

Let's continue to find out which of the birds is the fastest.

Fifth place, along with the gray-headed albatross, is also occupied by the frigate ─ another fast-flying bird. It lives in the tropics and subtropics, is a close relative of pelicans and cormorants.

This feathered creature looks very interesting: like a very important, but clumsy duck with a bright red chest strongly protruding forward, head haughtily thrown back, covered with black feathers. She has a long, bent down beak, narrow wings pressed to the body, a long forked tail, short clumsy legs. Although the frigate walks poorly and does not know how to swim, it flies just fine, easily overcoming 150 km per hour and being almost the fastest flyer in the world.

hallmark This feathered creature is its cockiness: it can take someone else's nest, driving away the owners, take prey from other birds, even steal a chick from the nest of neighbors.

A large bird that simultaneously resembles both a goose and a duck. It lives in Africa, settles only near water bodies. In length, her body reaches 1 meter, weighs more than 6 kg. The legs of the bird are high and strong, the pointed wings are large, so the clawed goose runs excellently, swims dexterously and flies well. In flight, few people can compare with him at all, since he is able to reach speeds of up to 140 km / h, which is why many scientists say that he is the fastest bird on earth.

The feathered creature feeds on aquatic and coastal plants, insects, and small fish.

Spurred geese are not family birds. They create a couple only for 1 season, while the task of the male is reduced only to the fertilization of the female, all other tasks ─ building a nest, hatching eggs, caring for chicks ─ fall on the goose.

This bird is the most fast duck in the world, no other duck will catch up with it, because the average merganser flies at a speed of 130 km / h. Like other representatives of this family, the merganser swims well and dives well, it can be under water for up to a minute. Interestingly, the chicks begin to swim in the very first hours of life; immediately after they dry, the mother leads them to the water.

It is distributed in North America and northern and central Eurasia. Settles only near flowing rivers and lakes, feeds on insects, worms, small fish, tadpoles and frogs.

The eighth place in the ranking (the gray-headed albatross and the frigate shared the fifth place among themselves) of the fastest birds on earth is again occupied by a duck ─ dive. This duck can be found in almost all of Europe, in Central and Central Asia. Compared to other types of ducks, it is quite large, has a weight of 1.5 kg or more, and a body length of more than half a meter. Its color is bright, elegant: red head, bright red beak, black glasses around the eyes, light brown cheeks and neck, black breast, white belly, gray wings with a light stripe. Dive settles near small reservoirs with fresh water, eats green plant food. This elegant duck is very mobile. She runs well, swims, dives and flies superbly, reaching speeds up to 115 km/h in the air.

Another family of ducks! But this is a sea duck that settles on cold coasts. North America, Europe and Eastern Siberia. This is a very large sea duck, which weighs 3 kg, its body grows up to 70-80 cm in length. On the shore, it is very clumsy and heavy, so it spends almost 2/3 of its life in the water near the shore, comes out on land only for breeding. It flies a little, low above the water, but very quickly: it covers up to 80-90 km in an hour. Eider has set a record: she dives deeper than any bird on the planet, reaching a depth of 50 meters underwater. It feeds on mollusks and crustaceans.

Gaga is known for her incredibly light and very warm down. It is collected from nests and used to warm the clothes of polar explorers, climbers and astronauts. Eider down has a special structure and is more valuable than any other.

On the last, 10th place in the rating "The fastest bird in the world", is the fieldfare thrush. This small bird with inconspicuous plumage is found throughout Europe, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia, in North Africa. Prefers to settle in colonies of 40-50 pairs. They love parks, forest edges, meadows. Feeds on plants and small insects. He loves to feast on mountain ash, hence its name.

The fieldfare thrush is an agile bird: it runs well, jumps and flies quickly, reaching speeds of up to 70 km / h.

Interestingly, this species defends itself by firing at the enemy with its droppings, which stick together the feathers of other birds with a special enzyme, causing them serious harm. Therefore, other birds try not to approach the fieldfare colony. If a person wanders into the domain of a thrush, he will also be fired upon.

That's all! Now you know which are the fastest birds inhabiting our planet.

The flight of birds is 40-60 kilometers per hour. Which bird flies the fastest? It is not so easy to answer this question - after all, it is difficult to measure the time that birds spend on overcoming a given path, and the data of scientists differ from each other. However, all sources agree that no other bird can outrun the peregrine falcon, just like an animal. During hunting and defense, this predator picks up speed exceeding 300 km/h!

Characteristic features

Peregrine Falcon - a bird There are 18 species that differ from each other in color and habitat. The predator is comparable in size to a crow, its average length is 50 cm. The wingspan is more than a meter. Powerful chest with pronounced muscles, strong fingers with rounded thick claws, short curved beak. The ends of the long tail and wings are sharp, which allows the bird to deftly maneuver. The back, wings and head of the bird are dark in color, the belly is light. characteristic external difference dark stripes near the beak, resembling a mustache, are considered.

Females reach 1.5 kg of weight and much larger than representatives strong half. The weight of males does not exceed 800 g. There are no differences in color among heterosexual representatives of this species. Peregrine falcon can hardly be called a songbird. Usually the sharp and loud voice of a predator can be heard during the mating season or serious disturbance.

How fast does it fly? The usual speed of a peregrine falcon is limited to an average of 130 km / h. When attacking prey or defending its territory, the predator dives at a speed of about 330 km / h.

Habitat

The falcon is undemanding to climatic conditions, therefore, its distribution area is limited only to Antarctica. It is found both in the hot tropics and in cold regions. In conditions wildlife peregrine falcon builds nests in places inaccessible to humans. He especially likes rocky and mountainous areas.

In forest thickets, the predator prefers to settle in hollows of trees or high above the ground, evicting previous inhabitants from their homes. An important condition The survival of peregrine falcons is the presence of a body of water near the nest. Some individuals prefer urban conditions. So, in the USA, peregrine falcons settle on the roofs of cathedrals and high-rise buildings.

Today in Russia there are about 5 thousand individuals, which is relatively less than several decades ago. Therefore, the Red Book bird is under the protection of the state.

Lifestyle

Having answered the question which bird flies the fastest, ornithologists began to study the lifestyle of the record holders, thanks to which a curious layman can learn a lot interesting facts about the life of peregrine falcons. It turns out that these predators are real conservatives!

Falcons lead Their territories are inherited and belong to the same family for several generations. It is curious that peregrine falcons prefer to nest at a considerable distance from their fellows - about 2-5 km. Birds defend their possessions aggressively and actively, fearlessly attacking even such large enemies as an eagle or. When a person appears, predators behave restlessly, circle overhead, and scream loudly.

Feathers are monogamous. Their pairs are formed for several years. The female lays eggs once a year and incubates them together with the future father of the family. The hatched chicks are absolutely helpless. They will be able to fly only a month and a half after birth.

Food

Most small birds know firsthand which bird flies the fastest and attacks mercilessly, because they make up the majority of the peregrine falcon's diet. Because it hunts winged predator usually in flight, sparrows, pigeons, larks, blackbirds become its prey. However, the predator does not disdain mammals: hares, mice, hamsters, squirrels. Sometimes he can even eat insects or frogs.

Peregrine falcons hunt in pairs. Having found the prey, the predator rapidly gains height and falls on the prey. At this moment, he is gaining maximum speed. The blow is so strong that often the falcon trophy falls apart.

The feathered catch delivers to the nest, where it deals with it. Unlike most other predators, the falcon eats only the torso of its prey. Over time, numerous bone remains of victims accumulate around the peregrine falcon nests.

bird records

Ornithologists managed not only to find out which bird flies the fastest, but also to identify the fastest feathered bird. It turned out to be an ostrich, which picks up speed up to 70 km / h, despite its impressive size and significant weight.

A famous diver is a penguin. In addition, the inhabitant of the Antarctic is able to compete with the best swimmers - in the water, the clumsy and clumsy polar inhabitant picks up speed up to 30 km/h.

Which bird flies the fastest and highest? There is no single answer to this question. Usually predators take off above all, since it is more convenient for them to look out for prey from a height. There are cases in history when migratory birds climbed so high that they collided with airliners. Among them were noted migrating swans and vulture (vulture).

Which bird flies the fastest in a horizontal path? Here the leading position is occupied by a swift. Its speed reaches 140 km / h, while the peregrine falcon moves no faster than 70 km / h during the period of calm.

Since childhood, we are interested in one simple riddle: who is actually the fastest of the birds? These amazing creatures have such a reserve of strength that many can envy them. The result of research on a similar topic may surprise many.

The fastest bird in the world

The first place in such a list of the fastest birds is the peregrine falcon. It is this inconspicuous bird that can move at a speed of approximately 389 kilometers per hour, which (for comparison) significantly exceeds the speed of free fall of paratroopers.

It is this fastest bird in the world that can give odds to many animals, while the peregrine falcon can be found on absolutely all continents, except for Antarctica, perhaps. Its main feature is that it can develop such tremendous speed only by diving from a height.

peregrine falcon dimensions

In appearance, this fastest bird in the world is no larger than a crow, in addition, it has gray plumage, which becomes light gray on the abdomen, and the head is always black.

The peregrine falcon survives thanks to a peculiar hunting technique, which consists in the fact that it dives from a height onto its prey and knocks it down with a blow of its tucked paws. The speed with which the peregrine falcon does this can easily lead to the fact that he knocks the poor prey's head off.

Second fastest

In fact, the bird, which will be discussed later, can easily take the first place in this kind of speed rating.

The main reason for this is that the peregrine falcon develops tremendous speed when it "falls" from the sky, but the swift's flight speed is enormous in the horizontal plane.

It can reach speeds of over 170 kilometers per hour. You can meet such a miracle only in Northern or Central Asia, as well as in Central Europe. The bird spends its winter hut in Africa or in India. Now its natural habitat is cities, and much less often it concerns forests.

The appearance of the swift

The swift is even smaller than the peregrine falcon, and weighs only 50-150 grams.

The black swift is the fastest. It has a plumage of a dark brown hue with a barely noticeable metallic sheen. It can easily be confused with a swallow, because these types of birds are quite similar, especially when viewed from above.

bird features

The peculiarity of the swift is that literally a few centuries ago it could be eaten, arguing that the meat is quite tasty.

If you do not take into account this gastronomic peculiarity, there is another interesting fact: the swift spends almost all its time in the air. In the most literal sense of the word. Flying out of the nest eight weeks after birth, it lands only after about 3 years. With the condition that his legs are very short and his fingers are directed only forward, it is quite difficult to take off from the ground on his own, but possible. All that is needed is a few very strong wing beats and at least a slight rise in order to make it easier to take off. The wings themselves are disproportionately large, if you still compare them with the size of the body itself.

Long, curved wings and a perfectly streamlined body, a flat head, and a short neck - all these aerodynamic features allow the swift to even sleep in the air. Being at an altitude of up to 3 thousand meters in a flock, he simply flies in a circle and falls asleep, while waking up every 5 seconds in order to once again flap his wings and not fall.

This fastest bird on earth can fly approximately 500 thousand kilometers in its entire life, while landing only a few times in its life just to breed.

Swallow and swift: differences

Earlier it was said that the swift can be very similar to the swallow in its appearance. But still, their most important difference is the speed of flight - the swift develops a speed of about 170 kilometers per hour, and the swallow is only 60 kilometers per hour. But nevertheless, the swift cannot be better in flight maneuverability than the swallow. The bird of this species also differs from the swift in the structure of its paws - the swift has four fingers turned forward, while the swallows have three forward and one back. That is why they can sit on telegraph wires and it is easy to hold on there, but the swift will definitely not succeed.

Swifts have a dark abdomen, while swallows have a white one. At the same time, in flight, the first species of birds is distinguished by its excessive loudness and never folds its wings. In addition, the swift is larger than the swallow.

Bird flight speed

The third fastest in this ranking is the grey-headed albatross. It is larger in size than its predecessors, because it has a wingspan of 3.5 meters. Due to the fact that the albatross cannot make such a rapid dive or constantly live in the air, it is distinguished by its endurance.

It is he who can fly at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour for eight hours. Although he is not the fastest bird in the world, he is in the Guinness Book of Records due to his amazing features.

Eider is a bird from the duck family, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to about one hundred kilometers per hour. At the same time, it withstands long flights, although it does not rise high into the sky, because its main food is in the water - mollusks, worms, and small fish. That is why the eider is not only a fast bird, but also an excellent diver.

The carrier pigeon will be next in the ranking of the fastest birds in the world. This species has proven itself in various conditions - and in Peaceful time and during hostilities. That is why the dove must be given due respect.

Its flight speed is from 90 to 100 kilometers per hour. Pigeons are much more enduring than albatrosses - some individuals can stay in the air for more than 16 hours.

The starling is an inconspicuous bird with a pleasant singing voice, it has also established itself as an excellent flyer. Starlings can reach speeds of approximately 70 kilometers per hour, and they are found on every continent of our planet.

Also, the fieldfare thrush can develop a speed of 70 kilometers per hour. It is distributed throughout Europe and Asia, and its voice and unusual plumage always attract a lot of attention.

Today we want to acquaint you with nimble representatives of the fauna, and more specifically with a list of the ten fastest birds in the world. So.

Teal whistle - 109 km / h

Teal whistle - small waterfowl widely distributed throughout Europe and Asia. It prefers to settle along the banks of water bodies located in a forest or forest-steppe zone among dense coastal vegetation. Most feeds in the water. It differs from other species of ducks in narrow and sharp wings. This feature provides the bird with the fastest and quietest flight. Their body length: 34–37 cm. Wingspan: 54–59 cm. Weight: 257–440 g.

Gaga - 113 km / h

Eiders are a large marine waterfowl, widespread in northern Europe, North America and Eastern Siberia. It lives off the coast of various marine basins, seas and oceans. It feeds on small mollusks, snails, insect larvae, crustaceans, starfish, sea ​​cucumbers, squid and small fish. In search of food, the bird is able to dive to a depth of 25 meters and is under water for up to three minutes. Their body length is 50–71 cm, weight 1200–2500 g, wingspan about 110 cm.

Canvasback - 116 km/h

Eighth place in the list of the fastest birds in the world is occupied by the Canvasback, a large waterfowl from the duck family that lives in North America. Is the most close-up view among diving ducks on the continent. Their body length is 48–56 cm, weight 862–1.600 g, wingspan 79–89 cm. aquatic plants, shellfish, insects and small fish.

White-rumped swift - 124 km/h

White-rumped swift is a small bird native to sub-Saharan Africa. Also found in Spain and Portugal. They have very short legs that are used only to cling to vertical surfaces. They spend most of their lives in the air, feeding on insects, beetles and arachnids. Usually they do not build nests, instead they use ready-made nests of swallows or swifts. Their body length is 14–15.5 cm, wingspan is 33–37 cm.

Medium merganser - 129 km / h

The merganser is a relatively small waterfowl that lives in northern regions Europe, Asia and North America. Prefers to settle on the ground in dense grassy vegetation near pools with sea ​​water. It feeds mainly on small fish (up to 6 cm long), insects, crustaceans, worms, small amphibians, and very rarely aquatic plants. Able to dive to a depth of 30 meters and is under water for up to 30 seconds. Their body length is 52–62 cm, weight 0.7–1.4 kg, wingspan 67–86 cm.

Spurred goose - 142 km / h

In fifth place in the ranking of the fastest birds is the Spurred Goose, a large bird that lives along the banks of rivers and lakes in sub-Saharan Africa. The body length of an adult Spurred Goose is 75–115 cm, the average weight is 4–6.8 kg, rarely up to 10 kg, the wingspan can vary from 150 to 200 cm. Males are noticeably larger than females. It feeds on aquatic and coastal plants, beetles, termites, butterfly caterpillars, and rarely small fish.

Frigate - 153 km / h

Frigate is a genus of birds that includes five species. Distributed in all tropical and subtropical regions. They spend most of their time in the air, hovering over bodies of water for a long time without moving their wings. They are skillful flyers due to their long and narrow wings, the span of which reaches 175–244 cm. Their body length is 71–114 cm, their weight is 600–1600 g. Despite the fact that frigatebirds are skilled hunters and can even catch flying fish, they often attack on other water birds, trying to recapture prey from them. They have rather strange love habits.

Needle-tailed swift - 170 km / h

The third place in the list of the fastest birds in the world is occupied by the Needle-tailed Swift, a bird that inhabits forests and groves with old hollow trees in South and Southeast Asia, as well as in the south Far East and Siberia. It stays in the air in flocks, never sits on the ground. Considered the fastest horizontally flying bird in the world. It mainly feeds on insects. Their body length is 19–20 cm, weight 109–140 grams, wingspan 48–55 cm.

Berkut - 300 km / h

The golden eagle is a bird of prey, of the hawk family, living mainly in the wooded and mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. It feeds on a variety of game (mainly hares, rodents and other bird species), including large ones - sheep, roe deer, deer and calves. It is one of the most dangerous birds of prey in the world. Their body length is 80–95 cm, wingspan 195–220 cm, weight 2.8–6.5 kg.

Due to their hunting qualities, the golden eagle is treated with great reverence and respect in many ancient cultures and tribes.

Sapsan - 350 km/h

The peregrine falcon is a bird of prey distributed on all continents except Antarctica. Prefers to settle away from humans in rocky areas near various water bodies. It feeds almost exclusively on birds - thrushes, sparrows, pigeons, ducks, starlings, etc. Sometimes it hunts small mammals, reptiles, and insects. Their body length is 38–50 cm. Wingspan is 83–113 cm. Weight is 580–1000 grams. Females are significantly larger than males.

During a dive, the speed of a bird can reach 322 km / h, but in documentary National Geographic measured dive speed reached 389 km/h. This fact makes the Peregrine Falcon not only the fastest bird in the world, but also the fastest representative of the fauna of our planet.

Share on social networks