Peregrine Falcon Speed: The Fastest Animal on Earth Almost Disappeared
Peregrine falcon speed is the stuff of records. In a hunting dive, a peregrine can pass 320 kilometers an hour (about 200 mph), making it the fastest animal on Earth. Yet just fifty years ago, this bird nearly vanished from North America.
Quick Facts
- Species: Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)
- Top speed: Over 320 km/h (200 mph) in a dive; one trained falcon was clocked near 390 km/h (242 mph)
- Found: On every continent except Antarctica
- Low point: About 324 nesting pairs in North America by 1975
- Comeback: Removed from the US endangered species list in 1999
How Fast Is a Peregrine Falcon?
A peregrine climbs high above its prey, often a pigeon or another bird, then folds its wings and drops into a steep dive called a stoop. In that dive it can pass 320 kilometers an hour. One trained falcon was measured at close to 390 kilometers an hour. At the bottom, it strikes its prey in mid-air.
Why Did Peregrine Falcons Nearly Disappear?
In the mid-1900s, the pesticide DDT built up in the birds that peregrines ate. It made their eggshells so thin that they cracked under the parents' weight. By 1975, only about 324 nesting pairs remained across North America, and the falcon had vanished from much of its range.
How the Fastest Bird Came Back
DDT was banned in the United States in 1972. Groups such as The Peregrine Fund bred falcons in captivity and released thousands of young birds back into the wild. It worked. In 1999 the peregrine was removed from the US endangered species list, one of the great wildlife comebacks.
Falcons in the City
Today many peregrines nest on skyscrapers, bridges and church towers, where tall ledges work like cliffs and pigeons are easy to find. Some city nests even have live webcams.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the peregrine falcon's top speed?
In a hunting dive, peregrines can pass 320 km/h (about 200 mph), and one trained falcon was measured near 390 km/h (242 mph). That makes it the fastest animal on Earth.
Are peregrine falcons endangered?
Not anymore. They were badly hit by the pesticide DDT, but after DDT was banned and thousands of captive-bred birds were released, they were removed from the US endangered species list in 1999.
Why do peregrine falcons live in cities?
Tall buildings and bridges work like the cliffs they nest on in the wild, and cities have plenty of pigeons to hunt.
Related Stories
- Arctic Tern Migration: The Longest Journey of Any Animal
- Cher Ami: The Pigeon Who Flew Through a Battlefield
- Animal Superpowers Ranked: The Tier List
For Bird Lovers
Browse our Birds collection.
The fastest animal on Earth, in plush: the Douglas Houston peregrine falcon (4.8 stars). See it on Amazon.
Heads up: that's an Amazon affiliate link, so we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Find animal art, shirts and mugs in our Etsy shop.
Get one true animal story in your inbox each week. Sign up at the bottom of this page.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Peregrine falcon: speed, range and the DDT decline
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Peregrine Falcon: hunting, habitat and city nesting
- The Peregrine Fund: Peregrine Falcon: the recovery program
- US Fish and Wildlife Service: Peregrine falcon: the 1999 delisting
More true animal stories: From Paw to Tail Blog
Cover photo: Christopher Watson via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.