Several years ago I built a muzzle-loading shotgun with a flint ignition system. I had hopes of using this shotgun to kill a grouse using the shotgun during the fall. When a grouse flushes, it is like an explosion of wings and feathers.

A flush never fails to startle me, and most of the time I’m unable to get a shot at the bird before it disappears. Using my flintlock shotgun, the bird will have even more of an advantage, one that it really doesn’t need.

I always thought that the grouse must be one of the fastest flying birds in Pennsylvania, however while reading the book “World Birds” by Brian Martian, I was really surprised to find that the pheasant is a faster flier than the grouse. A bird’s flight speed is mostly erratic.

Many species are capable of level, short-lived bursts at high speed while others plunge-dive after prey at speeds that greatly exceed those of any species in level flight.

The world’s fastest moving bird is the peregrine falcon, which can reach speeds of 180-200 mph in a dive. The male is considered the better flyer. Biologists are baffled as to how the peregrine falcon can pull out of such a dive and avoid blacking out. This speed made the peregrine falcon the favorite choice of falconers, which led to a reduction in the population, however the peregrine almost became extinct because of the use of insecticide DDT.

The fastest flying game bird is the red-breasted merganser, which can hit speeds of 80 mph while the fastest level flight belongs to the spine-tailed swift at 105 mph.

One might think that the swift, with its swept back wings and torpedo shaped body, is one of the fastest birds but their top speed is only around 14 mph. The swifts are more concerned about energy saving flights than speed. Racing pigeons can fly at speeds of 60 mph in level flight, however on May 8, 1965, a race was held at which 1,428 pigeons were released, and backed by a powerful south/southwest wind, the winning bird was clocked at 110.07 mph.

The world’s slowest flying birds are the American woodcock. Although these birds migrate and travel great distances, their top speed is only 5 mph.

The wingbeat of the hummingbird is one of the fastest. Its wings can beat from 75-90 beats per second while hovering in front of a flower. During the courtship flight, a male’s wingbeat can reach 200 beats per second. The hummingbird has special arm bones and wing joints that enable the bird to turn its wings 180 degrees, tracing a figure of eight, while beating its wings as rapidly as 90 times per second in order to maintain a stationary position.

Equally astonishing is the speed with which a hummingbird can stop in flight and how quickly it can accelerate to reach maximum speed from the moment of take-off.

The species with the slowest wingbeat is the vulture, which has a flapping rate of one beat per second. The herring gulls have a wingbeat of 2.8 beats per second. The highest flying bird in the world is the Ruppell’s Griffon vulture of Western Africa. These vultures are high-level soarers that watch for the activity of other vultures to lead them to food. On November 29, 1973, a commercial airline pilot flying at 37,000 feet hit a Ruppell’s Griffon vulture. The pilot recorded the altitude, and upon landing, sufficient feathers were taken from the engine to positively identify the bird.

The world’s fastest running bird and also the largest and tallest living bird is the ostrich. The ostrich can run at speeds of 60 mph for short bursts. Normally, the bird will run 30 mph for 15-20 minutes without showing any signs of fatigue. Since the ostrich is not a perching bird, it has only two toes.

The roadrunner, which is the world’s fastest running/flying bird, can run at speeds of 26 mph. The roadrunner, which is suited to desert life, lives in the scrub desert in southwestern North America and is a member of the cuckoo family. This exceptional speed and agility are used to capture fast-moving snakes, lizards and rodents and also to out-maneuver dogs.

It actually gives its chicks water by holding an insect, or other food, in the tip of its bill and when the nestling goes to receive the food, the adult regurgitates water into the nestling’s mouth before letting go of the food. Since desert air temperatures become very low at night, most birds increase their metabolism to maintain a constant temperature, which means burning precious energy. To avoid this, the roadrunner allows its body temperature to fall slightly at night, thus saving energy.

This slight torpor state means that the bird can be slow to respond to danger, however the bird has few enemies. The semi-torpid roadrunner warms up in the morning in a very peculiar way. On the skin of its back between the wings, it has special darkly pigmented areas, which absorb the sun’s energy more rapidly. The bird fluffs up the feathers covering this patch, which hastens the birds revival. Without this mechanism, the roadrunner would use up to 50% more energy in reaching a working temperature.

Other fast runners are the wild turkey that can run at 30 mph, and our pheasant that can sprint at 21 mph.

The longest migration belongs to the arctic tern, who travels over 12,000 miles each way between its northern breeding grounds and winter range near the Antarctic Circle. During its migration, the arctic tern enjoys more daylight than any other creature on earth, journeying from one polar summer to the other. The summer of the high arctic is very short and virtually night-less.

The longest of any uninterrupted flight belongs to the lesser golden plover, which can travel up to 2,486 miles over the ocean from Alaska to Hawaii. These birds have been known to fly 2,050 miles non-stop from the Aleutians to Hawaii in only 35 hours.

The shortest migration belongs to the blue grouse, which spends the winter in the mountain pine forests and descends 1,000 feet to where it nests in the deciduous woodlands.

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you that pheasants can reach speeds of 45 mph for short distances, and a grouse can reach a speed of 20 mph. Although a grouse has a thunderous take-off, it cannot fly any great distance, usually landing within 100 yards from takeoff.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.