Welcome to Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope!
I’m Carl Kerby, and we’re talking about how fast birds can fly.
There are some birds that can fly over 100 mph. When the Peregrine Falcon dives, it can travel at speeds up to 110 mph.
You’re saying, “The only reason they’re that fast is because they’re diving!” Well … the Spine-tailed Swift and the Red-breasted Meganser have been observed flying 100 mph in level flight.
The slowest flying bird we see is the American Woodcock. They can only fly 5 mph. The only way the Woodcock can be considered the slowest flying bird is if you don’t include hummingbirds. These little guys can hover, so technically that would mean they fly at 0 mph. Even worse, though … they’re the only bird that can fly backwards. That would mean that they can actually fly at negative speeds.
Fact is, hummingbirds are so amazing that they deserve an episode all for themselves. We’ll talk about them in the next Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope. Until then … stay bold!
Carl Kerby is the founder of Reasons for Hope and co-creator of the DeBunked apologetic video series. His radio feature, Fast Facts, is heard weekly on VCY America, Saturdays at 9:25 AM Central.
