Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff
Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbaumb Here. In two thousand and five, a fellow
Speaker 1: named Ken Franklin of Friday Harbor, Washington, used a computer
Speaker 1: chip to clock the diving speed of one of the
Speaker 1: peregrine falcons he owned by the name of Frightful, a
Speaker 1: six year old bird weighing in at a little over
Speaker 1: two pounds or a little less than one ki low.
Speaker 1: The result the bird dove after prey from about three
Speaker 1: miles in the air or five kilometers, at a speed
Speaker 1: of two hundred and forty two miles an hour. That's
Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty nine kilometers an hour, and with
Speaker 1: that speedy swoop broke a Guinness World record for the
Speaker 1: fastest dive by a bird, furthermore, making the peregrine falcon
Speaker 1: one of the world's fastest animals. Period Referred to as
Speaker 1: global birds, the peagrine falcon can be spotted on every
Speaker 1: continent except Antarctica, traveling long distances between their wintery and
Speaker 1: breeding grounds. Their taxonomical name is Falco peregrinus. Peregrinas means
Speaker 1: traveler in Latin. They're also unofficially known as the great
Speaker 1: footed hawk, the ledge hawk, stonehawk, rock hawk, bullet hawk,
Speaker 1: and wandering falcon. A North American peregrine falcons can be
Speaker 1: migratory or non migratory, with some residing year round in Alaska,
Speaker 1: the Southwest, Midwest, and northeast, while others migrate annually from
Speaker 1: South America and the Gulf Coast to the Alaskan tundra.
Speaker 1: Before the article, this episode is based on Hastuff Works
Speaker 1: spoke by email with Rick Schwortz, a San Diego Zoo
Speaker 1: Global Ambassador. He explained they prefer wide open spaces and
Speaker 1: do well near coasts where shore birds are common, but
Speaker 1: can be found from the tundra to deserts to forests.
Speaker 1: They are strong, efficient flyers and skilled at catching a
Speaker 1: variety of prey. This versatility allows them to live in
Speaker 1: almost any type of climate and habitat. Basically, they can
Speaker 1: live wherever they can find food. A peregrine falcons are
Speaker 1: some of the largest falcons in North America, weighing up
Speaker 1: to three and a half pounds or about one and
Speaker 1: a half kilos, with a wingspan of up to forty
Speaker 1: eight inches and a body length of up to twenty inches.
Speaker 1: That's about one hundred and twenty by fifty centimeters. They
Speaker 1: have long, pointed wings and a long tail. A Schwartz said.
Speaker 1: Adults are blue gray above, with their underside having alternate
Speaker 1: bands of colors, and a dark head with thick sideburns.
Speaker 1: They have sharp yellow talons to catch their prey, and
Speaker 1: as with most raptors, males are smaller than females. A
Speaker 1: pearagrine falcons use those talons and incredible eye sight to
Speaker 1: capture other birds even while in flight. They eat mostly
Speaker 1: other birds, with about four hundred and fifty North American
Speaker 1: species having been documented as prey by the National Wildlife Federation.
Speaker 1: Among them are birds as large as sand hill cranes
Speaker 1: and as small as hummingbirds, as well as shorebirds, ducks, gulls, pigeons,
Speaker 1: and songbirds. They also eat bats, and they often swipe
Speaker 1: fish and rodents from other raptors. A Schwartz said, a
Speaker 1: hunting peregrine typically catches its prey in the air with
Speaker 1: fast pursuits, rapid dives, and other impressive aerial maneuvers for
Speaker 1: which these falcons are known and admired. Peregrine falcons will
Speaker 1: sometimes dismember their prey and eat it in flight, or
Speaker 1: they will land with their prey in a safe spot,
Speaker 1: pluck the feathers and eat. They also have a sharp
Speaker 1: tooth at the end of their beat that they can
Speaker 1: use to sever their prey's neck. They're near the top
Speaker 1: of the food chain, meaning they have very few predators
Speaker 1: except for other large birds of prey like the great
Speaker 1: horned owl. Their speed certainly helps with this, and their
Speaker 1: teardrop shaped body is one of the most aero dynamic
Speaker 1: designs known in nature. In fact, it's been studied and
Speaker 1: copied by airplane manufacturers for decades. A housetuff Work also
Speaker 1: spoke by an email with Nicole Ellis, a pet expert
Speaker 1: and certified trainer. As she said, they are rocketing down
Speaker 1: from the sky is like a blur. The force from
Speaker 1: the air traveling at such a speed would explode the
Speaker 1: bird's lungs, but baffles in the nose prevent this. Just
Speaker 1: another feature that's been studied and used in jet engines.
Speaker 1: Sophisticated membranes in the bird's eyes prevent them from drying
Speaker 1: out so the predator can remain fixed on the target.
Speaker 1: Although these birds aren't necessarily homebodies, they are devoted partners.
Speaker 1: Schwartz said they mate for life and return to the
Speaker 1: same nesting spot each year. When looking for a mate,
Speaker 1: male peregrine falcons have to work hard to impress the
Speaker 1: females and to keep her attention. Males bring females food
Speaker 1: during the courting and nesting season. She frequently takes the
Speaker 1: prey from him while they are both in flight, by
Speaker 1: turning upside down in mid air and grabbing the food
Speaker 1: out of his talons. The peregrine falcon is considered one
Speaker 1: of the world's most common birds of prey. Schwartz explained
Speaker 1: in the mid nineteen hundreds, pesticides had a devastating effect
Speaker 1: on many bird species in North America, including peregrine falcons,
Speaker 1: and their numbers dwindled. Today, thanks to the work of
Speaker 1: the Paragrine Fund and many other organizations, the paragrine is
Speaker 1: listed as a species of Least Concern. However, these birds
Speaker 1: are best appreciated out in nature. A note that it's
Speaker 1: illegal to own any bird of prey in the United States,
Speaker 1: the only exceptions being licensed falconers in all states except
Speaker 1: Hawaii and the District of Columbia. As Schwartz said, acquiring
Speaker 1: a falcon re license in the US requires passing a
Speaker 1: state written test, having equipment and facilities inspected, and serving
Speaker 1: a minimum of two years as an apprentice under a
Speaker 1: licensed Falconer, during which time the apprentice falconer may only
Speaker 1: possess one raptor. Today's episode is based on the article
Speaker 1: The Fast and Furious Peregrine falcon is a midair hunting
Speaker 1: machine on how stuffworks dot Com written by Wendy Bowman.
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