Eli5 : why are bigger birds generally faster than smaller birds?

Question

The way I think about it, smaller birds have less weight and less wind resistance. Shouldn’t that mean they would be faster?

In: 7

Answer 1

Everyone talking power.

But it is more down to weight and gravity. A specific mass has a specific terminal velocity, and the heavier you are the higher that is.

Big birds also tend to glide. So they are faster just because they are heavier.

In a “flapping power contest” with no gliding, small birds are deffinitivly faster.