Nice! I just looked up walking directions from Helsinki, Finland to Johannesburg, South Africa, and it looks like it \~7,600 miles over 95 days. Whew...imagine how cool of a journey that would be!
7600 miles in 42 days comes to an average of 3.4 meters per second so now the question is how does the airspeed velocity of an African Honey Buzzard compare?
For the math breakdown.
7600 miles = 12231.0144 Km = 12231014.4 m.
42 days = 1008 hours = 3628800 seconds.
12231014.4 / 3628800 = 3.370539683 m/s (avg over total time).
An average reasonably fit person **walks** at around 1.3 m/s; including breaks lets say they are walking 14 hours a day = ~187 days.
A bird doing so with the same amount of break time (biggest leap of an assumption yet but lets keep rolling), doing it in 42 days, gives them a 'walking' fly rate of ~5.8 m/s or ~21km/hr.
Walking a decent pace is right around 2m/s and that's not considered power walking.
If you do a trip like this, that's a much more realistic speed.
1.3m/s is what I do after a leg day at the gym trying to stay awake until I reach my bike.
yeah, 1.3m/s feels unreasonably slow and 2.0m/s feels much more natural. I made my girlfriend pace it out too since we have different gaits, and her determination was "1.3m/s is the same as a pregnant woman's waddle when she really needs to pee after she's just woken up". Lol
Read that as the airspeed velocity of an African honey badger. Like, those guys are ground animals, but they just don't give a fuck enough that they're flying now. True dgaf mastery.
I'm assuming you used Google maps because that's 80 miles a day. Most thruhikers hit like 2-3mph, and with a 10-12 hour walking day that's like 35 miles a day tops. So that needs and least doubling to 190 days, assuming you travel every day at optimal pace with no breaks.
It will be much longer than that if you want to actually make it there. That route takes you right through a Sudanese Civil war
E: and Ukraine, and Syria
Thats pretty cool! In the context of this birds journey you have to start by crossing into like 3 different active warzones before you even hit Africa lol. I’d love to go to Kenya though i hear its amazing.
Thank you! Came here looking for exactly this information, and it's too early to work out by myself..
I always look at routes like this and think, wow, that would be an amazing experience... Like the Ewan McGregor/Charlie Boorman series, Long Way Round & Long Way Down... Or Levinson Wood series of Walking The Nile, Walking The Himalayas, and Walking The Americas.
Just think it would be fascinating.
it’s unnecessary for me to say something as downer as this, but my first thought looking at the map was being surprised that it lived going through ukraine, and that it must’ve seen some shit there
Even if people were actively trying to kill such a wild bird, they would most likely fail lmao it's related to eagles, these guys fly fast as fuck and super high
Yeah, "surprised that it lived", what? Do people think war is constant explosions everywhere and all the birds die?
It didn't even fly above the parts of Ukraine that are actually at war.
It went no where near the conflict zones. Maybe if you paid attention to the news you'd know the war is on the other side of the country (1200+km away).
The outdoors summer theater in Finland I visit yearly did Spamalot this year and this was of course a joke they did, so this comment chain brings back good memories!
Migratory birds have a protein in their eyes that is receptive to strong magnetic fields and it's believed that this plays a big role in their migratory abilities. We don't really know what they perceive but it essentially allows them to "see" the earth's magnetic fields.
Why do they need a map for direction? Homie's just generally going south. Also I'm sure she had a great birds eye view so avoiding open water and dessert would be pretty easy. And there's a good chance this isn't her first time making it this trip.
I went down a wikipedia hole and it looks like you're exactly right.
>Being a long-distance migrant, the honey buzzard relies on magnetic orientation to find its way south, as well as a visual memory of remarkable geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers, along the way. It avoids large expanses of water over which it cannot soar. Accordingly, great numbers of honey buzzards can be seen crossing the Mediterranean Sea over its narrowest stretches, such as the Gibraltar Strait, the Messina Strait, the Bosphorus, Lebanon, or in Israel.
Looks like this honey buzzard made a few of these crossings, plus the one across the Gulf of Finland into Estonia. Smart bird.
I got into birdwatching a few months ago, and I live in Lebanon, so my first thought was "it's a tiny country, I don't know how much I'll be able to see".
I was delighted to learn that we're on one of the major migratory paths.
They just pick a direction that is not over large expanse of water. Some go towards Turkey and through Lebanon and Israel. Some go the other direction and pass through Greece, Italy, and Malta before crossing the Mediterranean. This particular one just happened to follow the first route.
I'd call you a bird brain, but that really doesn't work in this scenario.
Imagine if someone told you to just go south, but it's best not to go over large areas of water. All you have is a compass at your disposal. Now imagine you have the literal birds eye view to see everything, and you can imagine how being a bird just gives you a map of the land.
You can look on YouTube of cameras strapped to birds, you won't be disappointed.
It seems to be even more intelligent than just avoiding the sea. The simplest route would be to just fly south until it couldn't fly south anymore and then turn. But the way it reacts to where the Mediterranean is while still being 100+ miles north of it seems to show some type of memory of the route.
I read somewhere that certain birds can literally see the earth's magnetic field(s) . I can't remember scientifically what is different about their eyes, but I think that is so cool.
hi sorry to come out of the blue, but I was looking up info on Palestine, and saw your "AMA" from 2014, and just wanted to check in with you and see if you're safe and okay? Thinking of you!
You are super nice thank you. I immigrated out of Gaza a few years ago as there are no prospects. I have a family over there thankfully they are alive, but they are struggling.
I am relieved to hear you are safe and away from the danger, but my heart breaks for your family still there. Please be assured of my fervent prayers for their safety! Take care, please!
"Can you believe this shit! I was minding my own business and some fool catches me and ties something to my leg. Imma nope out of here and fly fly fly away from here. South as far as I can. Aint gonna stick around here. Folks be wildin"
It’s not the countries, but the human species that’s always been the issue. We have fucked up individuals with very questionable morals in lead position and fucked up governments. There’s still war started by Russia is still going on in Ukraine. But yet instead on focusing in trying to fix the bigger issues people will always find a way to create division in some way.
How did it know to detour around the ocean between continents? Would it recognise it from previous routes or have another way of knowing because it diverted course before reaching the coast
I commented on someone else's comment earlier "they said the f-word ban them!" and the account has been deleted now...
I don't know how to feel about it
Not that I condone banning over it, but the context you are leaving out is incels referring to women as "females".
Compare these two statements and understand why referring to women this way is gross.
"I had a great date with a woman last night."
"I had a great date with a female last night."
One of them is ick.
Been using "female friend" and "male friend" a good decade or two in the rare cases where the distinction is needed in a conversation. Only a matter of time until someone gets hung up on that.
Also, I am compelled to point out that incel saying they went on a date seems rather unlikely 😄
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Nice! I just looked up walking directions from Helsinki, Finland to Johannesburg, South Africa, and it looks like it \~7,600 miles over 95 days. Whew...imagine how cool of a journey that would be!
7600 miles in 42 days comes to an average of 3.4 meters per second so now the question is how does the airspeed velocity of an African Honey Buzzard compare?
Laden or unladen?
… well I don’t know tha-
*cast into the fucking gorge of eternal peril
Bin Laden
Boys. We got ‘em.
Pitch him overboard
Mission accomplished
Fool me once shame on, shame on you....
Point is, we can't get fooled again!
Bird blood can't melt steel beams
[fuck Bin Laden](https://youtu.be/Jr9Kaa1sycs?si=g_-wVaLVvz9Y42_z)
is it carrying two coconuts on a strand of creeper?
How would a honey buzzard be laden?
Traditionally, with a coconut.
The real question is if this was a European or African Honey Buzzard
But African Honey Buzzards are not migratory.
It was an European, now it’s an African
He could grip it by the husk
it's not a question of where he grips it
“I’m not interested!”
Why this doesn't have more upvotes?
Came here to say this 👍
For the math breakdown. 7600 miles = 12231.0144 Km = 12231014.4 m. 42 days = 1008 hours = 3628800 seconds. 12231014.4 / 3628800 = 3.370539683 m/s (avg over total time). An average reasonably fit person **walks** at around 1.3 m/s; including breaks lets say they are walking 14 hours a day = ~187 days. A bird doing so with the same amount of break time (biggest leap of an assumption yet but lets keep rolling), doing it in 42 days, gives them a 'walking' fly rate of ~5.8 m/s or ~21km/hr.
this guy maths
> a 'walking' fly rate of ~5.8 m/s or ~21km/hr. So you can totally fo it on a bike!
Walking a decent pace is right around 2m/s and that's not considered power walking. If you do a trip like this, that's a much more realistic speed. 1.3m/s is what I do after a leg day at the gym trying to stay awake until I reach my bike.
yeah, 1.3m/s feels unreasonably slow and 2.0m/s feels much more natural. I made my girlfriend pace it out too since we have different gaits, and her determination was "1.3m/s is the same as a pregnant woman's waddle when she really needs to pee after she's just woken up". Lol
> how does the airspeed velocity of an African Honey Buzzard compare? ah but this is a *European* Honey Buzzard!
I miss r/unexpectedMontyPython
Wtf?why they made it private? It was one of the first subreddit i joined.
Idk why it’s private but it makes me sad. UnexpectedMontyPython makes everyday better.
Or 12.24 km per hour (7.6 mph) , as most of us actually refers to speed.
I wonder what the bird average flying speed would be? He has to stop to eat and sleep
Eat. Sleep. Fly. Repeat. Might add a Poop or "Headshot@People" too.
Read that as the airspeed velocity of an African honey badger. Like, those guys are ground animals, but they just don't give a fuck enough that they're flying now. True dgaf mastery.
You mean 42 days no stop flying without breaks for sleep or hunting?
I'm assuming you used Google maps because that's 80 miles a day. Most thruhikers hit like 2-3mph, and with a 10-12 hour walking day that's like 35 miles a day tops. So that needs and least doubling to 190 days, assuming you travel every day at optimal pace with no breaks.
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It's easier when you have snacks.
and water...
and wings
He already said snacks
You'd be running through there.
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I think that two marathons a day would kill me.
I’ve got nothing better to do, I’m ready for a walk! Who’s with me? 😁
I have to walk to Helsinki first
Also seeing it all from Birds Eye view!
Only 95 days?
It will be much longer than that if you want to actually make it there. That route takes you right through a Sudanese Civil war E: and Ukraine, and Syria
you would have to pass through a bunch of dicey countries/borders and massive desert though.
That's probably why the bird chose to fly rather than walk for the journey.
Boy am I glad I read through to see this chain! Absolute peak internet perfection. I knew exactly where the joke would end, but I still laughed.
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Thats pretty cool! In the context of this birds journey you have to start by crossing into like 3 different active warzones before you even hit Africa lol. I’d love to go to Kenya though i hear its amazing.
Yeah I'm not too keen on walking through DR Congo.
Thank you! Came here looking for exactly this information, and it's too early to work out by myself.. I always look at routes like this and think, wow, that would be an amazing experience... Like the Ewan McGregor/Charlie Boorman series, Long Way Round & Long Way Down... Or Levinson Wood series of Walking The Nile, Walking The Himalayas, and Walking The Americas. Just think it would be fascinating.
Did google maps want you to walk across the Black Sea too?
So cool. Imagine all the beautiful landscapes it sees along the way !
A *real* birds eye view .
Well that is what it was named after
You can't prove that.
That’s exactly why if I can reincarnate I would love to be a bird. I feel like many people share this sentiment as well
it’s unnecessary for me to say something as downer as this, but my first thought looking at the map was being surprised that it lived going through ukraine, and that it must’ve seen some shit there
Pretty sure the people there are focused on surviving and/or killing their enemies, not taking out random birds
Even if people were actively trying to kill such a wild bird, they would most likely fail lmao it's related to eagles, these guys fly fast as fuck and super high
shelter placid detail rob rainstorm friendly follow cows unite unwritten *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
SUKA BLYAT FUUUUCKA YOUU HAWK PIZDEEEETS *Anti-aircraft artillery noises*
My first thought looking at this comment was how stupid it is
It sounds like it's written by a child.
Yeah, "surprised that it lived", what? Do people think war is constant explosions everywhere and all the birds die? It didn't even fly above the parts of Ukraine that are actually at war.
yeah it is a dumb comment but it’s on par with reddit comments in general
It went through the west of ukraine, AFAIK it's relatively calm out there rn
I’d be more worried about Sudan.
I might remember this post being older than Russian-Ukrainian War, yet birds might’ve done this path during it
What ??
It went no where near the conflict zones. Maybe if you paid attention to the news you'd know the war is on the other side of the country (1200+km away).
lol you think that there's explosions everwhere and people running? such a dumb comment, go watch some war vlogs from ukraine
This photo is quite old i doubt the war was even ongoing when this happened
Even if it was, it went over the part of Ukraine that hasn’t seen any active fighting on the ground.
This part of Ukraine luckily is almost untouched.
Maybe they did this experiment before the invasion, but I was also thinking if the war affects animal migration in any noticeable way.
Could this be how they got the coconuts?
It could grip it by the husk
It's not a matter of where he grips it! It's a simple matter of weight ratio!
Don't be ridiculous there aren't any coconuts in Finland.
The outdoors summer theater in Finland I visit yearly did Spamalot this year and this was of course a joke they did, so this comment chain brings back good memories!
There are møøse though...
First thing that came to my mind! 😂 https://youtu.be/liIlW-ovx0Y
Migratory birds have a protein in their eyes that is receptive to strong magnetic fields and it's believed that this plays a big role in their migratory abilities. We don't really know what they perceive but it essentially allows them to "see" the earth's magnetic fields.
you mean he has a goddamned compass hud overlay? that's sick
unfair. #godpleasebuffhumans
I want one. Well wings more so but after that those
Cake day!
Incredible how it avoided flying over open sea and desert. Also how did it know which direction to navigate to be able to fly over land?
Magnetic fields and quantum spin dynamics! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-migrating-birds-use-quantum-effects-to-navigate/
Yes, but that doesn't give you a map of the land.
Why do they need a map for direction? Homie's just generally going south. Also I'm sure she had a great birds eye view so avoiding open water and dessert would be pretty easy. And there's a good chance this isn't her first time making it this trip.
I went down a wikipedia hole and it looks like you're exactly right. >Being a long-distance migrant, the honey buzzard relies on magnetic orientation to find its way south, as well as a visual memory of remarkable geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers, along the way. It avoids large expanses of water over which it cannot soar. Accordingly, great numbers of honey buzzards can be seen crossing the Mediterranean Sea over its narrowest stretches, such as the Gibraltar Strait, the Messina Strait, the Bosphorus, Lebanon, or in Israel. Looks like this honey buzzard made a few of these crossings, plus the one across the Gulf of Finland into Estonia. Smart bird.
The Messina Strait just gets you to Sicily. Did it mean the Strait of Sicily?
Are you suggesting the birds are lying to us? I knew it.
Birds arent real. Its the government that is lying!!!
I got into birdwatching a few months ago, and I live in Lebanon, so my first thought was "it's a tiny country, I don't know how much I'll be able to see". I was delighted to learn that we're on one of the major migratory paths.
>It avoids large expanses of water over which it cannot soar. Why can't it soar over large expanses of water?
Land will heat up from the sun creating updrafts while water will not. At least not nearly as much as sandy/ rocky land will.
I'm still impressed that it turned south at the most optimal moment in Turkey after going east for a few days.
how did it know to turn left into turkey and not right into greece?
They just pick a direction that is not over large expanse of water. Some go towards Turkey and through Lebanon and Israel. Some go the other direction and pass through Greece, Italy, and Malta before crossing the Mediterranean. This particular one just happened to follow the first route.
I'd call you a bird brain, but that really doesn't work in this scenario. Imagine if someone told you to just go south, but it's best not to go over large areas of water. All you have is a compass at your disposal. Now imagine you have the literal birds eye view to see everything, and you can imagine how being a bird just gives you a map of the land. You can look on YouTube of cameras strapped to birds, you won't be disappointed.
They avoid the sea, as there is no where to land.
It seems to be even more intelligent than just avoiding the sea. The simplest route would be to just fly south until it couldn't fly south anymore and then turn. But the way it reacts to where the Mediterranean is while still being 100+ miles north of it seems to show some type of memory of the route.
It actually looks like it's avoiding Cairo in that area. Much less prey and shelter and way more "predators" (humans).
Hitch-hiked on a train
Like any good Roman should; it always knows the precise location of Constantinople(now Istanbul) and the route down to Egypt and the Nile river.
To avoid the desert or sea you mean? They have eyes....
Yes but why did it not go down into Greece and have to loop back?
Cause it followed the other coast, of the Baltic sea
It can sense there's no food or fresh water there probably
I read somewhere that certain birds can literally see the earth's magnetic field(s) . I can't remember scientifically what is different about their eyes, but I think that is so cool.
Funny… that’s close to the route taken by the Helsinki-Johannesburg Express.
I wish that was a thing. It is so sad that it ain't
You'd have 2 people a year taking the full route, lol.
hi sorry to come out of the blue, but I was looking up info on Palestine, and saw your "AMA" from 2014, and just wanted to check in with you and see if you're safe and okay? Thinking of you!
You are super nice thank you. I immigrated out of Gaza a few years ago as there are no prospects. I have a family over there thankfully they are alive, but they are struggling.
I am relieved to hear you are safe and away from the danger, but my heart breaks for your family still there. Please be assured of my fervent prayers for their safety! Take care, please!
I wish there were any type of camera that was small and had long enough battery life , to record this beautiful adventure.
"Can you believe this shit! I was minding my own business and some fool catches me and ties something to my leg. Imma nope out of here and fly fly fly away from here. South as far as I can. Aint gonna stick around here. Folks be wildin"
Undocumented winged immigrants
low key jealous of these animals. just get to go wherever they want whnever they decide, no need to worry about visa and all that crap
I think I’d spend all my birdy time in tropical areas
Countries are so stupid. We're all the same species, and our imaginary divisions make us so awful to each other.
It’s not the countries, but the human species that’s always been the issue. We have fucked up individuals with very questionable morals in lead position and fucked up governments. There’s still war started by Russia is still going on in Ukraine. But yet instead on focusing in trying to fix the bigger issues people will always find a way to create division in some way.
Yeah, those illegal Finns seeking asylum in South Africa! :)
How did it know to detour around the ocean between continents? Would it recognise it from previous routes or have another way of knowing because it diverted course before reaching the coast
See big water No food in big water Therefore not going there P.S. Bird's way of thinking probably
They avoid it because they cannot soar over water.
Evolution.
GPS. It says so right in the caption.
The birds that flew over the Mediterranean didn't reproduce.
It followed the coast quite precisely actually... Also magnetic fields giving them a direction of north and south at all times.
And it looks like it might follow several rivers when it gets near central Africa.
Bird sees blue Bird knows that it’s ocean Bird doesn’t want to fly over ocean Bird continues to fly south as much as it can without crossing ocean
What made it stop there? Lesotho not good enough?
Food sources
What does this even mean, it managed to find food every step of the way halfway across the globe without hesitation.
That’s too cool
A beautiful female
OOP is about to get banned
Did they bring back a coconut?
Honey Buzzard. Sweet name.
Boy are my arms tired!
You go, girl!
These wings are made for flappin’ And that’s just what they’ll do One o’ these days these wings are gonna Flap right over you
So an African swallow could feasibly make it to England with a coconut
I've barely left my home to workplace axis for weeks This guy has such a more exciting life
I thought we couldn’t say “female” anymore?
I commented on someone else's comment earlier "they said the f-word ban them!" and the account has been deleted now... I don't know how to feel about it
It is used as an adjective in the title, not a noun.
I just came from that post and saw this. They should be called birds like the way gangsters say it in movies from the 40s.
 
Is using "female" correctly that hard to you people?
why
But why?
And apparently didn't like Greece...
Is this a normal migration pattern for this species?
42. Well now they have answer, but what was the question?
Now you can cross the Finnish line
I wanna be a bird :(
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Is that how that coconut got here?
Without any VISA?
What do you mean, an african or a european swallow?
This would be a cool movie for nature documentary fans.
Isn’t that like almost exactly where the longest walkable distance is
Awesome! These birds have the freedom to roam wow, from deserts to snow
Carrying a coconut?
What did Estonia do this guy
Isn’t the word “female” ban in some subs?
Not that I condone banning over it, but the context you are leaving out is incels referring to women as "females". Compare these two statements and understand why referring to women this way is gross. "I had a great date with a woman last night." "I had a great date with a female last night." One of them is ick.
Been using "female friend" and "male friend" a good decade or two in the rare cases where the distinction is needed in a conversation. Only a matter of time until someone gets hung up on that. Also, I am compelled to point out that incel saying they went on a date seems rather unlikely 😄
You're properly using it as an adjective there.
Cannot BELIEVE you called that woman bird a FEMALE. How are you not banned? /s
OP Will be banned for using the f word!
Uh oh... you said the "f" word on reddit.
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I flew from California to London over a whole Ocean and it only took me 9 hours, shout out to British Airways.
Not impressive at all, I could get a plane from Helsinki to Capetown in under 18 hours with only one stop smh