The age-herald., 1901-08-19
THE SPEED OF BIRDS.
Sparrows Can Beat Sixty Miles an
 Hour for Short Distances.

From Knowledge.
 The flight of a bird is usually so devi- ous that its speed Is not easy to deter mine. and when the journey Is directly from one point to another the uncertainty in the mind of an on1ooker as to where the flight will end is further h1ndrance to accurate observation. A bird In the open. again, flying across the plane Of vision and far from fixed point, re- ouires the preconception of its distance from us yefore yielding any data Of It's distance from us before yielding any oa.a of it's speed The difficulty of the sub feet. indeed. must be urged as the most reasonable excuse for the diversity Of rate at which birds have been stated to hv. even by careful observers. The sup feet of flight Is a large one, on Wnich the reader cannot do better than consult the article In Prof. Newtons Dictionary of Birds" do not propose to enter Hto it further thun to mention some incidents I have seen in which the relative speeos of some common birds have been tested S,, the birds themselves, or they have nrovided man with Q means to readily gauge their celerity for few moments.
 The commonest test of such speed IS +ba nipeon race, but in this the direction of the wind in relation to the birds may he considered the dominant influence 10 with the course also arise. Independent lv of aid from the wind, forty miles an hour would seem to be about the full speed for good pigion flying a long distance, I have had some experience In this matter, having "timed'' for good many races of the Southern Caunties Club years ago. am speaking, or course, of flight at moderate elevation, such as pigions generally affect. With the data available, none would dream of saying that a pigeon could fly at. say, seventy miles an hour against moder- ate wind.
 With regard to wild birds generally. not having such sure data for guidance. the imagination has been allowed fuller play, with the natural consequences.
 The swift (swallow) affords common illustration. The writer of an article in the Daily News thought that the swift could distance any falcon and attain a speed of 150 miles an hour I saw an adult male hobby falcon In the flesh shot on a swift, which 1t had overtaken in fair flight. A friend of Major Hawkins Fisher had seen similar incident. One day, travelling by express train through a valley. noticed that the trees proved the wind to be blowing gently in the direction of our travel. and I also ob- served that the swifts passing along the valley, even with" the wind. did not move so fast as the train, which was not exceeding the rate of some forty-five miles an hour. The birds seemed to be flying at their usual pace when feeding.
 Another bird whose speed seems to be overestimated is the sparrow hawk have seen 1t compared to common ball in ce- lerity; but the suggestion Is absurd. A bird which arrives on the scene at full speed has great advantage over others sedately feeding. so far as the chances
 
 and this may be partly the reason why so many of the smaller birds rise on the wing when alarmed by the sight of hawk. It Is as though they considered that. given fair start. they might dis regard the enemy.
 The homing pigeon we know can be re- lied on to attain, under fairly easy condi-