The average speed of a bird’s flight is difficult to determine. One robin can be a much faster flier than another.
Some birds fly faster on long journeys than on short flights, and other birds do just the opposite. The figures we have for the speeds birds fly are not as accurate as scientists would like them to be.
As a rule, small birds fly between 20 and 30 miles per hour. Ducks and geese usually fly at between 40 and 50 miles per hour. Shorebirds that make long flights regularly speed along at 50 to 60 miles an hour.
So far, the swifts of Mesopotamia hold the speed record. These birds have been timed at an incredible 200 miles per hour.
