The peregrine falcon hunts pigeons and ducks by climbing high into the sky and then folding its wings into a streamlined teardrop shape and falling. This dive - called a “stoop” - can hit speeds of more than 240 miles per hour, faster than a Formula 1 car at top speed.
At those speeds, the air is so violent it could damage almost any living body. The peregrine has evolved tiny bony cones inside its nostrils that act like baffles, slowing the rush of air going in so its lungs can still breathe. (Aerospace engineers later borrowed the same shape to fix early jet engines that kept failing at high speed.)
A clear third eyelid sweeps across each eye to keep them clear without blocking vision. The falcon picks its target while still way up high, locks onto it, and slams into it with feet curled into hard fists, knocking it senseless before catching it with talons. From a bird’s perspective, it’s basically a falling missile.
