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Did you see that?
How about that?
That brown blur going at breakneck speeds is the fastest bird in the world.
Oops, did I say bird?
I meant the fastest animal in the world.
This is the peregrine falcon.
Blink and you'll miss it.
Hi, I'm Danielle Dufault.
But you guys already know that by now.
I'm here to introduce Aranya, who's going to be hosting a new
series with us called Animalogic's World Of Birds.
Hi everyone.
Thanks Danielle for that great intro.
My name is Aranya and I am so excited to be here with you today.
I am a master's student.
I am actually building mathematical models to understand how birds
are using the geomagnetic field to migrate.
Outside of that though, I'm a certified bird nerd.
That's amazing.
Thank you.
It's so cool.
Let's go see some birds.
Let's do it.
Yeah.
Today we're at Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control and I'm going to get up close
and personal with some of the most badass birds of prey in the world.
So where we are right now, it's in the middle of very nice, open fields,
lots of green space, and because of that, I actually hear a lot of other birds around too.
There's an Oriole singing in the trees, there's some swallows by the nest boxes out there,
maybe a couple raptors flying around too.
I think they just brought out the first bird of the day.
I've got my trusty glove on.
It's like a good shoe.
Um, I'm excited to see and hold on.
All the crows are going to react soon.
Hi I'm Aranya Ire, and this is Animalogic's World Of Birds.
This guy here is a peregrine falcon.
He belongs to the family volcanidae.
Their scientific name is falco peregrinus, which literally means wandering falcon.
This is a reference to the Arctic peregrine falcons
that will migrate great distances during the northern winter.
Yep, peregrine falcons live in the Arctic
and North America, Central America, Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Actually, they're found pretty much everywhere,
making them the most widespread raptor in the world.
Except, they don't inhabit extreme polar regions like Antarctica.
And New Zealand, for some reason.
Too much competition I guess.
Peregrine falcons will live on coasts, cliffs, prairies, tundras, valleys, along mountain ranges,
and they've made themselves right at home in our skyscrapers.
If you live in a tall enough building downtown, look outside,
and you might be lucky enough to spot one.
Peregrine falcons are on the small side for a bird of prey.
They're about the same size as a crow, with a body length of 34 to 58 centimetres
and a wingspan of 74 to 120 centimetres.
Females are about 30 percent larger than the males.
But don't let their small size fool you, these birds are still lean mean killing machines.
Although it depends on the subspecies,
the falcon's back and crown is usually somewhere between bluish black and grey.
Their wingtips are black, and their under parts are a whitish or tan colour with dark bands.
I love the little sideburns that they have.
I think that's supposed to be common for all the falcons.
Just reminds me of like a biker gang that's walking down,
with the big sky burns and the -- the big moustaches.
Their wings are long and pointed, just like the other birds in their genus.
Adult falcons reign at the top of the food chain,
and their diet consists of other medium-sized birds.
Pigeons are a particularly popular meal,
which is perfect for peregrine falcons trying to make it in the big city.
They're also partial to doves, waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds.
One thing to watch out for peregrine falcons, though, is their bite.
If they really wanted to, they could take a finger out.
Their beaks are just so sharp.
Peregrine falcons rarely eat mammals, except for bats at night and the odd rodent.
In order to catch their agile prey, peregrine falcons have to be quick.
Like real quick.
When flying normally, they can reach speeds of about 110 kilometres an hour.
Pretty good, right?
But when they're diving for prey?
They have the ability to hit 389 kilometres an hour.
This makes them the fastest member of the animal kingdom.
They get to these crazy speeds because they're incredibly aerodynamic.
They're so perfectly adapted to high speeds that
airplane designers have copied their shape to design stealth bombers.
This lightning fast control dive is known as a stoop and it's a hunting
technique used by several different birds of prey.
Now, the falcon doesn't always bust out the stoop while hunting.
Sometimes they opt for a good old classic chase.
But when they need to dive, this is what they do.
First, the falcon soars up to a great height,
and when it spots its flying target, it tucks in its wings and takes a steep dive.
They start slow, but soon the combination of the bird's aerodynamic body, swept back wing shape,
and powerful muscles work together to turn this bird into a feathery missile.
Silent but deadly.
But like, not in that way.
The air pressure from that kind of speed could damage the bird's lungs,
but the falcon small tubercles blow the airflow away from their nostrils.
This makes it easier to breathe by reducing the rate of change of air pressure.
They protect their eyes with their handy-dandy nictitating membrane,
which clears debris and tears from their eyes.
This allows them to keep a laser focus on their target.
A peregrine falcon's vision is so good they can pick out prey from a full kilometre away.
Nothing escapes them.
When the peregrines reach their target, they deliver a perfectly controlled blow to their
prey, breaking their back or wings, and carrying them away with their talons.
Dude didn't stand a chance!
Poor guy.
Something that I read about them is that they don't really have those eyebrow ridges.
So like, they've kind of set in, unlike the ones that you've seen hawks.
They've got like, big eyebrows, but these are like built for speed so there's less drag.
That's right there's less drag.
The peregrine falcon's hunting ability has been revered across
millennia and it's been used in falconry for about three thousand years.
Peregrines often hunt in tandem, taking turns diving on their prey until it's caught.
They also mate for life and breeding season is in the spring.
Courtship displays include high circling flight by the male
and dramatic dives and chases by both falcons.
Couples will typically make their nests in scrapes
that they scratch out on cliff ledges in the wild and on tall buildings in urban areas.
These locations give them a great vantage point to protect their babies from predators
while keeping an eye on any feathery food that may fly by.
The female will lay three to four eggs, and while both parents do share the incubating duties,
she will do most of the work.
After five weeks, the chicks hatch.
These little guys will take their first flight around six weeks old,
but will still be dependent on their parents for food
for another month and a half, which is around the time they are taught to hunt for themselves.
And unfortunately, around 60 percent of peregrine falcons don't survive their first year.
Those who do reach sexual maturity at around 2 years old
can live up to 20 years, but the average lifespan of the wild is something closer to 13 years old.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, peregrine falcons became endangered because they were ingesting DDT,
a pesticide that was affecting the amount of calcium in their eggshells.
Thinner shells meant momma falcons would accidentally break their eggs
just by laying on them.
Luckily, humans restricted the use of DDT, bred more falcons in captivity,
and did a better job protecting the birds' nests from illegal poachers who wanted peregrine eggs.
The falcons numbers have bounced back and they're no longer threatened.
It shuffled its feathers around, which I'm assuming means he's comfortable.
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So what should we talk about next?
Let me know in the comments down below
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Keep soaring to new heights!
Thanks for watching, see ya.
Bye, squirt.
Their excellent eyesight helps --
Oh my goodness.