Extremely fast dives help peregrine falcons maneuver to catch agile prey

Computer simulations of peregrine falcon attacks show that the extreme speeds reached during dives from high altitudes enhance the raptors' ability to execute maneuvers needed to nab agile prey that would otherwise escape. Robin Mills and colleagues of the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and Oxford University, UK, report this discovery in PLOS Computational Biology.

By attaching video cameras and GPS trackers on a Peregrine falcon, prior research by the team showed that falcons attack their prey using the same steering rules as man-made missiles. But it remained unknown why peregrine falcons choose to catch prey by diving from great heights at speeds faster than any other animal. Such risky behavior surely places extraordinary physical and cognitive demands on the falcon.

To investigate the peregrine's dive strategy, Mills and colleagues built a physics-based computer simulation of bird flight that pits falcons against prey. The simulation incorporates the aerodynamics of bird flight, how birds flap and tuck their wings, how falcons perceive their prey and react to it with delay and how falcons target their prey like a missile.

Source

Credit: Robin Mills

The image is a snapshot of the simulation in action. A stooping peregrine falcon (blue trajectory) is about to intercept a common starling (green trajectory) that maneuvers erratically to evade.

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