Bird Hits:

10 birds that often strike aircraft in India and around the world (All images via X)

Larks:

The critical bird species have caused at least 57 bird hits in India alone between 1966 and 2018.

Stone-curlew:

A research paper showed that these birds caused about half of damage causing bird hits by critical species in India between 2005 and 2018.

Rock pigeon:

These common birds pose a hazard at airfields in India as they show the tendency to flock on runways in numbers.

Killdeer:

These medium-sized plover found across North America pose a threat to planes particularly in the United States and Canada.

Red-wattled Lapwing

One of the most notorious bird species in and around Indian airports.

European starlings:

They fly in large flocks and cause the most small-junk strikes in the continent.

Mourning doves:

The single most common species hit by US planes, they account for around 11% of identified strikes in the country.

Tree sparrow:

This species is known to cause a significant number of bird strikes at Chinese airports, as it often flocks near runways.

Ring-necked Pheasant:

One of the blacklisted birds across the airports of Asia.

Black kite:

Globally, black kites rank among the birds most frequently involved in aircraft collisions in countries like India and Australia.