Birdstrike on the M56!
This is only tangentially related to aviation matters but just the other day I was on my way to Manchester Airport on the M56 when I hit a pigeon. It scared the !!!!! out of me but it didn't even leave a mark on the windscreen! Now I thought this was a bit strange because at the University where I used to work we had some large windows that small songbirds used to fly into on a regular basis. These windows were usually covered in greasy bird-shaped marks recording each incident, and had some really messy areas where the poor little chaps had clearly popped on impact.
So here’s my question? Why is it that a tiny songbird can hit a stationary building and smash itself to a pulp flying under it’s own steam, but a fat pigeon hit by a Vauxhall Astra travelling at 70mph doesn’t leave a mark?