Sunday, August 14, 2016

Tireless Pigeon Races Cars Down The Highway

A pigeon was filmed zipping between cars and racing down a busy highway in the Netherlands at impressive speeds of up to 60mph.

The bird had no problem keeping up with traffic and overtook several cars along the way, at times coming very close to making contact with vehicles that would have surely blown the plucky pigeon to smithereens.

The pigeon, likely a racing breed, was presumably taking this risky Amsterdam to Utrecht route for aerodynamic reasons, using the slipstream of vehicles to gain an advantage over its competitors.

Racing pigeons is a popular sport all over the world and involves releasing specially-trained flocks of pigeons a measured distance from their home and timing their flight back.

Pigeons have been known to reach speeds of 130kph and can travel anywhere from 100 to 1,000km in one day. The person who uploaded this footage of the freeway-flapping pigeon said it had flown alongside their vehicle for 20km (12 miles).

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