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Speedy bat flies at 160km/h, smashing bird speed record

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2112044-speedy-bat-flies-at-160kmh-smashing-bird-speed-record/

"These are the fastest powered flight speeds documented yet in any vertebrate ­ that is, in bats or birds," says Gary McCracken of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. "We didn't expect these results, even though the Brazilian free-tailed bats are known for their exceptional fast flight."

Previous studies suggested that birds fly faster than bats, but birds have received much more attention, McCracken says. The fastest bird on record for level flight is the common swift (Apus apus), which reaches around 112 km/h.

McCracken's team now claims bats have beaten that record. The team used an airplane tracking device on seven bats from the Frio Bat Cave in south-western Texas to track ground distance covered by bats. They found that all bats achieved speeds of almost 100km/h, with one bat logging a top speed of 160 km/h.
"Most of the time, these animals are moving at moderate speeds, but what we see here is that they exceed these expectations and quite dramatically for brief periods of time," McCracken says.

Supercharged swifts take flight speed record

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8539000/8539383.stm

A relative of the common swift, the white-throated needletail, also known as the needle-tailed swift or spine-tailed swift (Hirundapus caudacutus) is commonly reported as the fastest bird in level flight.

It is reported to reach a top speed of 169km/h (47m/s; 105mph).

But the record is difficult to verify as the methods used to measure the bird's speed have never been published, says avian flight specialist Dr Per Henningsson of Lund University in Sweden.

Confirmation of the new record came as Dr Henningsson and Lund University colleagues Dr Christoffer Johansson and Professor Anders Hedenstrom filmed common swifts using two high speed cameras.

I wonder about echolocation at such speeds (44m/s). A bit like having lag? Some swiftlets use echolocation too.

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