I really, really like birds of prey. Especially when they fly.
These tiny balls of feathers weigh on average from a couple of ounces to a couple of kilos, and are fragile enough in the air to be chased off by one determined sparrow. Close up fights are not their specialty. But you would not want to fight them. You would probably win, one good punch would do it. But their beaks and talons are designed to tear flesh. You could easily lose an eye, or a finger, or sever an artery. No bueno.
When birds of prey attack, their speed and agility make their kills almost always instant. Their airborne prey never see them coming, and are often dead before they even hit the ground. The fastest animal on (or, I suppose off) Earth is the stooping (the word used for their rapid attack descent) Peregrine Falcon. Their talons are not actually used in a stooping attack. It is the impact that either stuns or kills. Peregrines have been measured at 320 km/h (200 mph) when in a dive. That’s faster than most cars top speed: It’s like being hit by a speeding truck.
Other species rend and tear their living prey. Gruesome. But every living thing has to eat. These predators have evolved to be nature’s most deadly and efficient killing machines. In the air they are incomparable. Things of beauty, as they dance, and swoop, and twist, and dive. But my perspective is perhaps biased. I know that they consider me and you too big to eat.
