Nobody – and we mean nobody – flies faster than the peregrine falcon.
They’ve been clocked at 240 miles per hour.
I mean, they’re basically feathered fighter
jets.
But catching their favorite foods, like this
pigeon, isn’t as easy as you’d think.
So a peregrine needs much more than raw speed
to get a meal.
First, it scans for prey with its phenomenal
vision.
It can see about twice as far as we can.
Here’s why.
Both humans and peregrines have a spot at
the very back of their eyes where vision is
sharpest.
It’s called a fovea.
But peregrine falcons have an extra one which
helps with depth perception at high speed.
That helps it lock onto its prey – or in
this case, a lure the falconer is using to
mimic a pigeon trying to get away.
Most birds of prey, like this red-tailed hawk,
have a prominent ridge above their eyes that
shades against the sun.
But, the peregrine's ridge is much smaller.
A bigger ridge can create drag, which could
slow the bird down.
So instead, peregrines rely on dark feathers
below their eyes to reduce glare, like black
marks on a football player’s face.
In the air, peregrines are super maneuverable,
thanks to the shape of their wings.
They’re angled and compact, unlike the broader
wings that owls use for gliding…
Or hawks use for soaring.
A peregrine’s long, stiff feathers also
help slice through the air smoothly.
And of course, there is the peregrine’s
signature move: the stoop.
This dive turns the bird into an aerodynamic
missile aimed right at its prey.
But being fast has its downsides.
At high speed, the air pressure on its face
is intense, potentially suffocating.
So peregrines have these little bones, called
tubercles, inside their nostrils.
They slow down the air going into their lungs.
Jet engines have the same kind of thing.
Once a falcon zeros in on a bird, then comes
the really hard part: taking it down.
It hits the bird with a huge amount of force,
either knocking it to the ground or stabbing
it with eight razor-sharp talons.
And if that doesn’t do the job, peregrines
have a special sharp notch on their beaks
– known as a tomial tooth or killing tooth
– to bite through the necks of their prey.
Dinner is served.
Hey Deep Peeps, like things with wings?
Us too!
Here's a playlist just for you.
Also, we’re close to funding our filming
trip to Mexico – we just need a little more
help!
So join us on Patreon today so we can go film
more amazing stuff.
Link in the description.
Thanks!
