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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Across the Sahara in a day: swifts zip across the desert at amazing rates

A species of swift lives up to its name as it migrates from southern Europe to central Africa.
Pallid swifts in flight

Pallid swifts live life on the wing, spending day and night in the air. Credit: Frank McClintock/Shutterstock

Pallid swifts are the marathoners of the sky, spending most of their lives in flight. Tracking devices now show that pallid swifts have not only endurance but also speed: some cross the Sahara Desert at an average pace of 400 kilometres per day1.

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Nature 600, 193 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03582-4

References

  1. Finlayson, S. et al. PLoS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259656 (2021).

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