Science
Speed unseen: bats fly at a blistering pace under the cover of darkness – Nature.com
A long-winged bat uses rising air currents to become a high flyer.
Nocturnal bats can reach air speeds of 135 kilometres per hour and altitudes of 1,600 metres above sea level with assistance from pockets of rising night air.
Some bats soar hundreds of metres aloft in a few seconds. But flying fast and high can be challenging after dusk: winds are weaker than during the day, and landmarks that can aid navigation are invisible.
To explore how nocturnal bats achieve high-performance flight, Teague OMara at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and his colleagues…
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