Top 5 Fastest Birds in the World Fastest Animals on Earth - FreeSchool Creature Countdown

You're watching FreeSchool! Today we're learning about the top 5 fastest
birds in the world. This is a countdown of the fastest birds in
the world, but in fact, these five birds represent the fastest animals of any kind in the entire
world! Number 5: the Eurasian Hobby. A small falcon that resides in Africa, Europe,
and Central and East Asia, the Eurasian Hobby is a bird of prey. It flies powerfully, and
fast.

Its speed allows it to catch and even sometimes eat its dinner midair - dragonflies,
small bats, swallows, and even swifts. The Eurasian Hobby may reach flight speeds
of up to 100 miles or 161 kilometers per hour. Number 4: the Swift. Swifts look a bit like swallows, but they
are actually more closely related to hummingbirds.

Swifts spend almost their whole lives in flight;
they spend so much time in the air that hundreds of years ago, people believed that they had
no feet, since they were never seen to land! Of course they do have feet, but their legs
are small and weak and they never land on the ground if they can help it. Swifts have been reported flying at speeds
of 106 miles or 171 kilometers per hour. Number 3: the Gyrfalcon. The Gyrfalcon is the largest of the falcon
species.

Living mainly in the Arctic and the bordering areas of North America, Greenland,
Europe, and Asia, it feeds on birds and mammals like lemmings, ground squirrels, and hares. Gyrfalcons are valued by falconers, who use
them in hunting. Although it rarely hunts by diving, the Gyrfalcon achieves high speeds
in its dives, as much as 130 miles, or 209 kilometers per hour. Number 2: the Golden Eagle.

One of the largest and most widespread eagles
in the Northern Hemisphere, the golden eagle is considered one of the best fliers in the
entire eagle family. Like the gyrfalcon, the golden eagle is valued by falconers, but it
can take much larger prey. It is such a large, skilled hunter that it can even kill wolves. In a full stoop, a golden eagle can reach
speeds of 200 miles or 320 kilometers per hour, making it the second-fastest living
thing on Earth.

Number 1: the Peregrine falcon. The fastest animal on the planet, the peregrine
falcon is found on every continent except Antarctica. It is about the same size as a
crow, and it hunts birds almost exclusively, although it will sometimes take small mammals
or reptiles. Peregrines have been used by humans in falconry to hunt game for at least
3,000 years.

In a full stoop, when it flies to a great
height and then pulls its wings close and dives, the peregrine falcon may reach speeds
of 242 miles or 389 kilometers per hour - faster than any other living thing on Earth. I hope you enjoyed learning about the fastest
birds on Earth - and stay tuned for more creature countdowns from FreeSchool!.