A Peregrine Falcon with prey.

Not often that I get this famous bird with its catch on camera.

Why is the bird famous? Its attacking dive is the fastest in the world. No other bird can dive as fast as the (Falco peregrinus).

Here below is a list of the fastest birds in the world, and you, will see that the (Peregrine peregrinus) is number 1.

This is a list of the fastest flying birds in the world. A bird's velocity is necessarily variable; a hunting bird will reach much greater speeds while diving to catch prey than when flying horizontally. The bird that can achieve the greatest airspeed is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), able to exceed 320 km/h (200 mph) in its dives.

Some has clocked the Peregrine at a maximum speed of 389 Km/h during its dive,

Source

The bird sat very high up in a tall tree.

I walked all around the tree to try and get a clear sight of the bird and the photos in here was the best view that I could find.

In YouTube, you will see videos of see how the Peregrine Falcon was used for the design of the B2 Stealth Bomber. I have seen many photos on the web where the Peregrine Falcon and the B2 Stealth Bomber plane were compared in flight. They also reckon that especially the wings of the aircraft were designed to match the diving pattern of the Peregrine Falcon. Nature has been used in many instances for the design of aircraft, and even a dragonfly was used for the design of a helicopter.

After he had eaten, he popped over on to another branch and he broke out in song. A very loud kla-kla-kla.

The higher that a Peregrine flies the faster it comes down in an attacking dive.

Some years ago, when we first visited the Cape and we booked in at a bed-and-breakfast venue, the venue was sited high up on a hill and it happened to overlook a water reservoir with two big trees behind it. So, early one morning, I got the Peregrine in one of the big trees, also with its prey. That was the last time that I saw a Peregrine Falcon with its prey, and I haven't seen it with its prey ever since.

Until now, of course, and you can imagine how chuffed I was. The Peregrines in South Africa do not migrate, and they stay here in winter also. There are many Peregrine species across the world, and some are also reckoned to migrate. It is so amazing that our small Peregrine Falcon is the only bird in the Peregrine species that can reach such dizzying speeds in its dive. And I think it is because of its size, as the bigger Peregrines are much slower in their dives.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting this post.