The Peregrine Falcon, powerful evidence of amazing design

The Peregrine Falcon, powerful evidence of amazing design

https://reasonandscience.catsboard.com/t1754-the-peregrine-falcon-powerful-evidence-of-amazing-design

http://belligerentdesign-asyncritus.blogspot.com.br/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=28

I was astonished to read the following blog article today, and take the liberty of reproducing it in its entirety.

The author Vishesh Jain is connected to Harker, which publishes a blog here:harkerbio.blogspot.com/ from which this article is copied in full. It is a marvellous description of this wonderful bird, and gives full rein to the inquirer's questions about just how this creature could have obtained the instinct package which powers its fantastic behaviour.

harkerbio.blogspot.com/

The Peregrine Falcon: Fastest Animal on the Planet
Peregrine Falcons are raptors with keen eyes, strong wings, powerful beaks, and tremendous speed. Outside their nesting season, peregrine falcons earn their name by traveling extensively, as much as 15,500 miles a year. Once endangered by DDT and human development, they have rebounded and are now found all over the world. Though they prefer open spaces such as plains and sea coasts, they live everywhere from tundra to desert to cityscape.

Peregrine falcons are known for their speed. When they plummet to catch an unsuspecting pigeon below them, they can reach velocities over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). That's over a fourth of the speed of sound. Zoom. But what's also fascinating about these remarkable birds are the adaptations that allow them to use such power.

The Eyes:
If a peregrine falcon is flying or perched over a kilometer in the air, as they often are, it would be useful, perhaps, to be able to see what it's trying to strike. While they're no mantis shrimp in terms of spectral range, they do indeed have some of the keenest eyes on the planet. With full color vision and rapidly focusing lenses, their eyes have a resolving power up to 8 times greater than humans, enabling them to spot prey miles away and keep track of it while approaching at breakneck speed.

The Shape:
To achieve 70 mph speeds in pursuit of prey and 200 mph plummets to attack those below, the peregrine falcon has one of the most streamlined bodies in the air. The curved wings create an air foil effect in multiple dimensions, maximizing maneuverability, lift, and speed.

The Wings:
Besides the streamlined structure of the wings themselves, peregrine falcons maximize speed in every way possible. In pursuit, it can flap its wings up to four times a second, and in its dive it is able to let gravity pull it down with negligible air resistance, locking its wings in place to create minimum drag. The feathers themselves are stiff, slim, and unslotted, allowing them to literally slip through the air as they attack. As in all birds, their wings are hollow, enhancing flight and maneuverability in the air.

The Power:
Small tubercles and bones in the nose prevent the immense air pressure from flowing into and rupturing their respiratory system. In addition to tons of strong red muscle fibers, peregrine falcons have one-way lungs, like most birds, to maximize oxygen intake. To achieve torpedo-like speed both horizontally and vertically, peregrine falcons have an enormous keel, part of the sternum. As the attachment site for flight muscles, the larger the keel, the more powerful the flight, and this makes these birds some of the fastest in the world.

The Attack:
Now, if you were to drop a couple hundred stories, you'd probably be going pretty fast too. The question, then, is whether you'd be able to catch something, halt your dive, and be in a medical condition to eat it. From the muscle, to the talons, to the beak, these raptors are serious predators. When their keen eyes finish guiding their dive into their prey, if the impact of 200mph razor-sharp talons hitting a poor pigeon's back doesn't kill it, the tomial tooth of their strong beak can break the stunned bird's spine in a second. Then the falcon can leisurely eat it in the air or on the ground, after plucking its feathers, of course.

https://answersingenesis.org/birds/peregrine-falcon-natures-top-gun/

It’s not easy being the fastest animal on the planet. But the peregrine falcon comes equipped with all the necessary technology to defy deadly speeds.


The fastest animal on the planet doesn’t spend much time on the ground. The peregrine falcon spends most of his days flying high in the air, searching for food. But his ability to flap isn’t what makes him so special; it’s his fall. During a steep dive, called a stoop, the falcon exceeds 200 miles an hour (322 km/hr).1

“God created every winged bird according to its kind” and “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21). We can still see each of these good designs today.

To accomplish his unique fall, the peregrine is supplied with a teardrop body shape,






swept-back wings, and stiff feathers

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/feathers.htm

that minimize air resistance. The falcon has a powerful body and a pulse rate that reaches 900 beats per minute. But even these designs aren’t enough to explain his death-defying dive.

High-speed flight presents special challenges. For example, how can his eyes focus on prey a mile away and make rapid-fire adjustments while being blasted by air? In three ways. First, the peregrine eye has 4–5 times the number of visual cells (called photoreceptors) as our eyes. This extra visual detail allows the falcon to make split-second adjustments. Second, the falcon eye has an extra lid, called the nictitating membrane, which prevents wind damage. Essentially, the membrane serves as a see-through eyelid, which can be closed without limiting his visibility. Third, beneath his eye is a dark patch, similar to a football player’s “eye black.” This shading minimizes glare.

In birds of prey, it also serves to protect the parents' eyes from their chicks while they are feeding them, and when peregrine falcons go into their 200 mph dives, they will blink repeatedly with the nictitating membrane to clear debris and spread moisture across the eye.

Incidentally, in the making of airplanes, especially jets, humans came onto a problem. As planes got faster and faster, the engines started choking out at a certain speed. It seems that the air, instead of going into the cowl of the engine, encountered a wall of still air and engine cowl and so split and went around the engine. Puzzled, the researchers wondered how the falcons could still breathe at such incredible speeds. Looking at the falcon's nostrils, they found the answer. In the opening of the nostril is a small cone that protrudes a bit. Fashioning a similar cone in the opening of the jet engine, they discovered that the air could pass into the engine even at great speed. Once again a human invention is preceded by an animal adaptation." (Chaffee Zoo 2007)

"The air pressure from a 200 mph (320 km/h) dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles in a falcon's nostrils guide the shock waves of the air entering the nostrils (compare intake ramps and inlet cones of jet engines), enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure." (Wikipedia 2008)

During a dive, the high-speed airflow over the falcon’s beak should prevent normal breathing. Some sources also claim that so much pressure builds inside the lungs that it would cause most animal lungs to burst, although this claim is difficult to verify. To compensate, the falcon has specialized cone-shaped bones protruding from the entrance of its nostrils, called baffles. These bones control the flow of incoming air so the falcon can breathe it safely.



Military jet engines employ a similar design. When a jet flies at supersonic speeds (faster than sound), the engine can “choke.” Air moving toward the engine appears to hit a wall of resistance and flows around, instead of through, the engine, causing it to stall. So engineers fashion a cone in the opening of the engine, similar to the falcon’s nostril. With this addition, outside air can safely enter the engine. Cones and their variations, called intake ramps or inlet cones, are visible on the front of most large jet engines.

Even at its top speed of 200-plus miles per hour, however, the falcon would not encounter the shock waves that supersonic jets must deal with. So, although each design serves to regulate air intake in some way, the similarities are largely superficial, and it is difficult to verify that the peregrine falcon’s nose directly inspired jet engine design, despite reports to the contrary.3

Nature is rich with useful ideas and solutions to complex engineering problems, from medicines to jet engines, all provided by the Creator from the beginning of time. One by one, we are discovering these ideas and applying them to modern technology. The endless examples of intelligent design clearly reveal the fingerprint of our personal, loving Creator.

The peregrine falcon , a superlative marvel of engineering

http://reasonandscience.heavenforum.org/t1754-the-peregrine-falcon-evidence-of-design#2840

It’s not easy being the fastest animal on the planet. But the peregrine falcon is a superlative marvel of engineering, he comes equipped with all the necessary technology to defy deadly speeds.

His ability to flap isn’t what makes him so special; it’s his fall. During a steep dive, called a stoop, the falcon exceeds 200 miles an hour (322 km/hr)

The Shape:
To achieve 70 mph speeds in pursuit of prey and 200 mph plummets to attack those below, the peregrine falcon has one of the most streamlined bodies in the air. The curved wings create an air foil effect in multiple dimensions, maximizing maneuverability, lift, and speed.


The Eyes:
The peregrine falcon has some of the keenest eyes on the planet. With full color vision and rapidly focusing lenses, their eyes have a resolving power up to 8 times greater than humans, enabling them to spot prey miles away and keep track of it while approaching at breakneck speed.

Second, the falcon eye has an extra lid, called the nictitating membrane, which prevents wind damage. Essentially, the membrane serves as a see-through eyelid, which can be closed without limiting his visibility. Third, beneath his eye is a dark patch, similar to a football player’s “eye black.” This shading minimizes glare.

In birds of prey, it also serves to protect the parents' eyes from their chicks while they are feeding them, and when peregrine falcons go into their 200 mph dives, they will blink repeatedly with the nictitating membrane to clear debris and spread moisture across the eye.

Incidentally, in the making of airplanes, especially jets, humans came onto a problem. As planes got faster and faster, the engines started choking out at a certain speed. It seems that the air, instead of going into the cowl of the engine, encountered a wall of still air and engine cowl and so split and went around the engine. Puzzled, the researchers wondered how the falcons could still breathe at such incredible speeds. Looking at the falcon's nostrils, they found the answer. In the opening of the nostril is a small cone that protrudes a bit. Fashioning a similar cone in the opening of the jet engine, they discovered that the air could pass into the engine even at great speed. Once again a human invention is preceded by an animal adaptation." (Chaffee Zoo 2007)

"The air pressure from a 200 mph (320 km/h) dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles in a falcon's nostrils guide the shock waves of the air entering the nostrils (compare intake ramps and inlet cones of jet engines), enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure." (Wikipedia 2008)

During a dive, the high-speed airflow over the falcon’s beak should prevent normal breathing. Some sources also claim that so much pressure builds inside the lungs that it would cause most animal lungs to burst, although this claim is difficult to verify. To compensate, the falcon has specialized cone-shaped bones protruding from the entrance of its nostrils, called baffles. These bones control the flow of incoming air so the falcon can breathe it safely.

Military jet engines employ a similar design. When a jet flies at supersonic speeds (faster than sound), the engine can “choke.” Air moving toward the engine appears to hit a wall of resistance and flows around, instead of through, the engine, causing it to stall. So engineers fashion a cone in the opening of the engine, similar to the falcon’s nostril. With this addition, outside air can safely enter the engine. Cones and their variations, called intake ramps or inlet cones, are visible on the front of most large jet engines.

The Wings:
Besides the streamlined structure of the wings themselves, peregrine falcons maximize speed in every way possible. In pursuit, it can flap its wings up to four times a second, and in its dive it is able to let gravity pull it down with negligible air resistance, locking its wings in place to create minimum drag. The feathers themselves are stiff, slim, and unslotted, allowing them to literally slip through the air as they attack. As in all birds, their wings are hollow, enhancing flight and maneuverability in the air.

The Power:
Small tubercles and bones in the nose prevent the immense air pressure from flowing into and rupturing their respiratory system. In addition to tons of strong red muscle fibers, peregrine falcons have one-way lungs, like most birds, to maximize oxygen intake. To achieve torpedo-like speed both horizontally and vertically, peregrine falcons have an enormous keel, part of the sternum. As the attachment site for flight muscles, the larger the keel, the more powerful the flight, and this makes these birds some of the fastest in the world.

The Attack:
Now, if you were to drop a couple hundred stories, you'd probably be going pretty fast too. The question, then, is whether you'd be able to catch something, halt your dive, and be in a medical condition to eat it. From the muscle, to the talons, to the beak, these raptors are serious predators. When their keen eyes finish guiding their dive into their prey, if the impact of 200mph razor-sharp talons hitting a poor pigeon's back doesn't kill it, the tomial tooth of their strong beak can break the stunned bird's spine in a second. Then the falcon can leisurely eat it in the air or on the ground, after plucking its feathers, of course.

“God created every winged bird according to its kind” and “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21).

This example of intelligent design par excellence clearly reveals and demonstrates the fingerprint of a amazingly intelligent, powerful Creator.