Given the right winds, flight speed is incredible. Even the lumbering Canada Goose, the portly denizen of yards and golf courses, can reach 70 miles per hour or more on migration. And avian fat, strangely enough, is one of the world's most powerful fuel sources, gram for gram. The godwit's nonstop migration is exceptional, but by no means the only journey that requires such unbelievable reserves of energy.
Given the right winds, flight speed is incredible. Even the lumbering Canada Goose, the portly denizen of yards and golf courses, can reach 70 miles per hour or more on migration. And avian fat, strangely enough, is one of the world's most powerful fuel sources, gram for gram. The godwit's nonstop migration is exceptional, but by no means the only journey that requires such unbelievable reserves of energy.