Peregrine Falcon

Description:

Not the most quality photos, I know, but this is the first Peregrine I've ever seen, so I had to post! It was on a bluff high above me. From the look of it, it sits there a lot.

Habitat:

Peregrines can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Here's a video of the "stoop" that Peregrines accomplish, going faster than any other animal in the world: http://www.extremescience.com/peregrine-...

Notes:

The Peregrine Falcon is often stated to be the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop,[7] which involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds commonly said to be over 320 km/h (200 mph), and hitting one wing of its prey so as not to harm itself on impact.[6] The air pressure from a 200 mph (320 km/h) dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles on a falcon's nostrils guide the powerful airflow away from the nostrils, enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure.[48] To protect their eyes, the falcons use their nictitating membranes (third eyelids) to spread tears and clear debris from their eyes while maintaining vision. A study testing the flight physics of an "ideal falcon" found a theoretical speed limit at 400 km/h (250 mph) for low altitude flight and 625 km/h (390 mph) for high altitude flight.[49] In 2005, Ken Franklin recorded a falcon stooping at a top speed of 389 km/h (242 mph).