Which bird flies the fastest? Records among birds

And during their hunt, in a swift and diving flight, peregrine falcons can reach speeds of over 322 kilometers per hour, or about 90 meters in one second. Usually, when hunting, the falcon soars in the sky, and after finding the prey, it rises directly above it and literally falls down almost at a right angle. Ornithologists also call such a hunt the phrase "bet". Directly close to the victim, the peregrine falcon hits it on a tangent with paws folded and firmly pressed to the body. Moreover, the bird makes the main “bet” on the powerful claws of the hind toes, which can deliver a very strong blow, from which even large rodents can experience instant death.

Sexual maturity in peregrine falcons occurs by the second year of life, and formed pairs remain throughout the life of birds. Falcons nest on rocks, near cliffs, less often on roofs or ledges of residential buildings. In modern cities, of course, it is almost impossible to find such birds, but in the Middle Ages it was quite common to meet peregrine falcons in European cities.

This bird looks very proud and impressive. The body length is about 35-55 centimeters with a wingspan of almost one and a half meters. Unlike other bird families, female peregrine falcons are usually much larger than males. This feature is characteristic of almost all falcons. The weight of the female is 900-1400 grams, and the male is 500-750 grams. They look the same, without any appearance features depending on the sex of the birds.

Over the past few centuries, the peregrine falcon has been considered a rather rare bird, which, although it has a high adaptability to new landscapes and weather conditions, still simply does not have time to adapt to rapid climate change and the invasion of the city on the habitual habitats of birds. For the first time, ornithologists began to sound the alarm in the second half of the 19th century, when the situation was significantly complicated by the beginning of the massive use of harmful pesticides in agriculture. In addition to the extinction of individual individuals, others have significantly reduced the hatchability of chicks, endangering the entire species. Currently, many varieties of growing media have already been banned, and scientists continue to fight for the preservation of peregrine falcons in forests, including in Russia.

I am always fascinated by birds of prey: eagles, hawks, falcons… By no means scavengers, no. Namely, those who earn their own food, feed their families. Having studied in more detail information about birds, I also found out which of them are the fastest, and began to respect them even more.

The fastest bird

I must say right away that the fastest bird is the peregrine falcon, this is one of the types of falcons. An amazing bird, only the size of an ordinary crow, but when it unfolds its wings, it strikes their power and length, almost up to 1 meter. He has a beautiful gray plumage on his back and a colorful belly, he has strong powerful claws, a strong beak and sharp eyesight. The peregrine falcon, while hunting, tracks down its prey, soaring high in the air. As soon as the target is detected, the falcon dives sharply down, reaching speeds of up to 330 km / h. Just imagine, for example, a car moving at the same speed! It's incredible! None of the birds in the world can develop such a speed. The peregrine falcon is listed in the Red Book, its numbers have noticeably decreased recently due to poachers.

Besides the fact that the peregrine falcon is the fastest bird, it has many more interesting features, for example:

• Peregrine falcons live under any climatic conditions, on any continent except Antarctica.
• They are monogamous, create families for several years.
• They live in one territory all their lives and pass it on by inheritance to their offspring.
• While courting a female, they can feed her right in the air.
• The males incubate the eggs along with the females.
• In its prey, the falcon eats only the torso, leaving the head, limbs and bones intact.
• They can even live in big cities, settling on the tallest building or tower.

Falcons are very noble birds, proud, but at the same time, they can be tamed by a person for use in hunting, and then they serve him faithfully. No wonder they have been so appreciated by people in all ages, they are respected in songs, ancient legends, some ancient gods were depicted as a man with a falcon's head. Even the highest speed train was named after this bird.

Birds are very interesting creatures, they are strikingly different from all other animals, and even from each other. Some birds spend almost their entire lives in the air, the second are generally devoid of wings and feathers and can only run on the ground, and still others prefer exclusively the water element ...

The biggest bird

It `s naturally, . The growth of the largest individuals of the African ostrich reaches 2.80 meters, with a weight of 170 kilograms.

The smallest bird

This record belongs to . The smallest hummingbird weighs only 1.5 grams with a body length of about 5 centimeters.

The fastest flying bird

There is simply no equal among flying birds. At a straight distance, the peregrine falcon is able to accelerate up to 200 km/h, and in the so-called diving fall while hunting, the feathered predator can reach speeds of up to 325 km/h. By the way, the peregrine falcon is not only the fastest bird, but also the fastest animal on the planet.

The fastest running bird

It is probably no secret to anyone that they are the best runners among all birds. They are able to run at a speed of 80 km/h. With such a run, the step of an ostrich can reach up to 8 meters in length.

Heaviest flying bird

Here the first place is shared by the large African and dudak. Surprisingly, these birds weigh 18-20 kg.

longest living bird

Big yellow-crested cockatoo lives in captivity for about 80 years. However, it is believed that under natural conditions, the life expectancy of this parrot can be 100 years or more.

The sharpest vision

Second record. This bird has such good eyesight that it can recognize a mouse from a distance of 8 kilometers.

The largest wingspan

At wandering albatross this figure is 3.6 meters. Slightly smaller wingspan andean condor- a predator of the falcon family - 3 meters 20 centimeters.

longest beak

The longest beak relative to body size has sword-billed hummingbird. The length of the beak of this small bird can reach 10 cm, with a total length of 15 cm, i.e. their beak is 2 times longer than the body.

highest flight

Here it is actually very difficult to determine who is the real champion in this parameter. According to truly famous cases, the first place belongs to vulture Ruppel, this bird flew at an altitude of more than 11 kilometers.

The most voracious bird

Cuban tody per day eats several thousand insects, the total weight of which is about 60-65% of the weight of the bird itself.

The fastest bird or the maximum number of strokes per minute

Blue-tailed Amazonia- another record-breaking bird from the hummingbird family, makes 80 wing beats per second.

Best Floating Bird

Penguins are the best swimmers in the bird world. Stronger than other species stands out emperor penguin- he swims at a speed of 36 km / h, and what is generally unbelievable can dive to a depth of almost 500 meters.

The hardiest bird

polar duck able to withstand temperatures of -110 degrees Celsius. This makes it not only the hardiest member of the feathered family, but also the hardiest animal in general.

The loudest bird

indian peacock screams so loudly (and also ugly) that it can be heard for several kilometers.

Most Feathers

At swan more than 25 thousand feathers.

The most poisonous bird

Yes, birds are also poisonous! The most dangerous are representatives of the genus pitowy. The entire body and feathers are saturated with one of the most dangerous toxins in the world - homobatrachotoxin. This poison is deadly even for humans.

Birds are very interesting animals. About 11 thousand different species live on their planet, among them there are those that are very similar to each other and those who stand out clearly from others and not only visually, due to unusual coloring, but also in body structure and capabilities. So, for example, one of the smallest winged creatures, the hummingbird, can fly backwards. The largest bird reaches the height of a person, and can weigh up to 160 kilograms - this is an African ostrich. Many of them are known to have unusually sharp eyesight, but the falcon's ability to see up to 4 kilometers away is truly impressive. But what is the fastest bird in the world? This is what we have to find out.

Opening our list is the rather clumsy Gaga bird. Her body is not adapted for hiking, so she spends most of her life on the water. It also flies rarely, but it does it quickly, an adult can cover from 70 to 90 kilometers per hour. Far from the best indicator, but Gaga is clearly not offended, because she holds the record for the deepest dive into the water - up to 50 meters.

9. Field thrush

In the top of the fastest birds in the world is a very warlike thrush, whose favorite delicacy is mountain ash, which influenced his name. It can fly at speeds of over 80 km/h, and is also famous for firing its own droppings at its enemies and enemies.

8. White-breasted American Swift

There are a lot of varieties of swifts, but it is this one that can reach speeds of up to 125 km / h. It spends much more time in the air than anywhere else, because it hunts for insects, which it constantly looks out for while in flight.

7. Spurred goose

Among the top 10 fastest birds in the world with a speed of 143 km / h is the clawed goose. It lives on the African continent, eats aquatic plants, but can also covet wheat and other crops. In addition, it has at its disposal poisonous needle-like spurs, which are located on its wing break. To fill them with poison, it also eats blister beetles.

6. Medium merganser

There is no faster duck on planet Earth than the merganser. It differs in that it can be under water for more than a minute and that already in the first hour of its life, ducks of this species conquer the expanses of water without fear of drowning.

5 Grey-headed Albatross

Albatross without any doubt is the fastest feathered animal, only he is the record holder in horizontal flight. It can accelerate to 128 km / h and so fly for about 7-8 hours without slowing down. Only these winged creatures have such endurance.

With an indicator of 150 km / h, the frigate, an African relative of the pelican, is in fourth place on our list. It has not the most pleasant character and habits, because without a twinge of conscience it occupies other people's nests, steals food and even chicks.

A predatory representative of birds, having a very modest size. In growth, it rarely exceeds 35 cm, but in speed it will give odds to many, because it develops about 240 km / h.

Being a representative of the eagle family, the golden eagle impresses with its size. Its wingspan can reach 2.5 meters, which explains the ability to fly at a speed of 250-320 km / h. It hunts small rodents, other birds, but it can also grab a sheep if it pleases it.

The speed of the fastest bird in the world is 325 km/h and it is the peregrine falcon. No land creature, let alone an underwater one, can accelerate so fast, which makes it the fastest among all. The peregrine falcon is capable of such an indicator when it enters a peak, hunting for another victim. At the same time, it is enough for him only to touch the potential prey with his claws on a tangent, and it is guaranteed to be dead.

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 of the globe, including Antarctica. Different species are 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 bird in the world 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! No animal can move at such a speed, so the peregrine falcon is not only the fastest bird in the world, but also the fastest living creature on earth. 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. A characteristic feature of the 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 to be the "fastest bird in the world" as it accelerates up to 250 km/h while hunting 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 wind carries the swift in a dream 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 large sea bird that lives 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 a 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 arrogantly 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.

A distinctive feature of 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, incubating eggs, caring for the chicks ─ fall on the goose.

This bird is the fastest duck in the world, no other duck can 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, feeds on green plant foods. 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 the cold coasts of 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, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and 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.