how fast and high do birds fly

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Generally birds follow the facetious advice often given to pilots -- "fly low and slow." Most cruise speed are in the 20 to 30 mph range with an eider duck having the fastest accurately clocked speed of about 47 mph. During a chase, however, speed increase, ducks for example can fly 60 mph or even faster, and i has been reported that a peregrine falcon can stoop at speeds of 200mph. interestly, there is a little relationship between the size of a bird and how fast it flies. Both hummingbirds and geese can reach roughly the same maximum speeds...