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A Common Swift (Apus apus) has been recorded covering more than 3,100 miles in just five days during its migration from Africa back to the UK.
The bird was able to maintain an average speed of around 25mph for the non-stop journey across the Sahara desert and up through Europe to its nest site at a nature reserve in Fowlmere, in Cambridgeshire.
The creature, which is around six inches in length, with a wingspan of around 15 inches, is able to eat and sleep on the wing. Before setting off, it spent around ten days in Liberia, west Africa, where it fattened up for its journey by hoovering up flying termites.
The bird, named A322, was tracked as part of a project run by the British Trust for Ornithology, which is investigating reasons behind the species’ decline.
The bird was able to maintain an average speed of around 25mph for the non-stop journey across the Sahara desert and up through Europe to its nest site at a nature reserve in Fowlmere, in Cambridgeshire.
The creature, which is around six inches in length, with a wingspan of around 15 inches, is able to eat and sleep on the wing. Before setting off, it spent around ten days in Liberia, west Africa, where it fattened up for its journey by hoovering up flying termites.
The bird, named A322, was tracked as part of a project run by the British Trust for Ornithology, which is investigating reasons behind the species’ decline.
http://www.telegraph...-in-5-days.html
