The true super-powered king of speed...is about to clobber one of these pigeons.
A peregrine falcon may chase a pigeon in one of two ways.
The first method...is the flat-out chase.
Sometimes it works...but pigeons are fast, too.
And when jostling back-and-forth with a peregrine in this mode...prey will occasionally slip away.
When this happens, the peregrine can recalibrate...and switch to method number two.
It's called the rapid stoop...the dive bomb.
The attack begins slowly...then gradually picks up speed.
Its wings tucked in, the falcon is approaching 200 miles per hour.
It is now the fastest animal on the planet.
Against this super-powered speed...the pigeon is defenseless.
It's tough to hide from an attack like that.
