The peregrine falcon falcon is no slouch . subject of achieving upper of over 320 kilometers per hour ( 200 miles per hour ) , this rapid bird of prey is not just the fastest bird in the sky , but the speediest animal on the satellite .
However , theperegrine falconis only able to hand these dizzying speed when perform a form of dive know as ahunting stoop . When it comes to tear down flight of stairs , there ’s another bird that takes the gold .
Sticking with the overall champion for now , a hunting stoep is basically a breach - neck free - declension play that the falcon uses to get its quarry . soar to a height far above its victim – which may well be another skirt – the peregrine then tucks in its wings to ensure a more aerodynamic frame before plummeting beak - first , almost directly downwards .
A split - second before reaching its target – whether on the ground or in the atmosphere – the falcon spreads its wings to break its spill and change direction . Thefastest speed ever clockedby a peregrine falcon in a hunting stoep is 389.46 kilometers per hour ( 242 miles per hour ) , which was achieve by a shuttlecock named Frightful from Washington State .
Recorded as part of a infotainment for National Geographic , this meteoric ancestry begin when the falcon was released from a plane at an height of 5,182 meters ( 17,000 feet ) , which is far higher than a birdie of this sort would usually fly . The validity of this record has therefore been challenged by some ornithologist who interrogate whether a peregrine falcon could reach such a high speed under normal conditions .
Despite their ridiculous perpendicular velocity , however , peregrine falcon are no match for the common Gustavus Franklin Swift when it comes to even , wing - power flight . During courting display – know as " screaming party " – these small birds live up to their name calling by speed to their top speed , with thefastest ever recorded flightbeing 111.6 kilometers per hour ( 69.3 miles per hr ) .
While this is thehighest speedto have been reliably measured in a bird in point flight , it ’s wide believe that the white - throated needletail – a congeneric of the uncouth swift – may be able to go much quicker , with unconfirmed story suggesting a top speed of 169 kilometers per 60 minutes ( 105 miles per hour ) .
For the meter - being , however , the claim of degenerate animal in grade flight actually belong to a mammalian . arrange all avian contenders to shame , theBrazilian free - tailed bathas stolen the crown by traveling at a speed of 160 kilometers per hr ( 99.5 miles per 60 minutes ) – much to the disappointment of all theswiftiesout there .
