In 2025 pilots and airports reported 24,459 wildlife strikes, about 67 a day.
The database holds 352,419 reports since 1990, from 2,788 airports, naming 975 species. Reporting is voluntary, so this counts what somebody wrote down, not everything that got hit. When only a smear is left, the Smithsonian's Feather Identification Lab names the species from the fragments, which is how a record can say Wilson's warbler at 32,000 feet. 12,494 of the strikes involved something other than a bird. 22,157 damaged the aircraft; those with a reported height are the dots below.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration wildlife strike database, full export, rebuilt daily by the agency · How this was built
Each row is one species' strikes spread across the calendar. Darker cells hold a bigger share of that species' year.
The named species and groups with the most reported strikes. The colour matches the row in the calendar.
Almost everything happens in the first 500 feet, on approach or the takeoff roll. A handful of strikes are on record above 25,000 feet.
Built with AI assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration's own export. Reporting is voluntary and counts are not a measure of risk at any airport. Remarks are quoted as filed, including typos.