There were tests done with trained peregrines in the USA that were trained to
chase a weighted lure from a plane. They were flown from about 10,000 feet
(from memory but could be incorrect). The bird had a 'radar type' device
attached to its back to record its speed. It ultimately reached 420kms per
hour. Keep in mind this was a trained bird at abnormal height. It showed the
birds capabilities but would not be achievable in day to day hunting as there
is no need to fly to this height.
Amazing though none the less.
Ant
On Sun, Jun 15, 2008 at 07:14:21PM +1000, Greg & Val Clancy wrote:
> Further from Stephen Debus:
> The absolute fastest actually measured with radar
> is just under 200 km/h (about 190, from memory) for a Peregrine, just
> over 200 for the bigger/heavier Gyrfalcon. This is in the scientific
> literature, but not getting through (though I try!). 200 km/h is
> impressive enough without having to exaggerate.
The faster radar measurement Google Scholar turns up is 51m/s (ref below)
which is 184km/h and the same paper cites careful non-radar measurement
of Gyrfalcon doing similar speeds. Aerodynamic characteristics of
both falcons indicate both could achieve much higher speeds and must be
controlling their descent rate - maybe higher speeds would be dangerous
to the falcon or not advantageous to hunting.
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