Scientists reveal how falcons stalk their preys in flight

Scientists have revealed that falcons head off their prey by flying in a way that the target appears stationary in the falcon's visual field.

Suzanne Amador Kane has tested various strategies that a falcon is most likely to use while hunting and revealed that the birds fix their prey in sight and manoeuvre to keep the prey's image motionless against the background in order to head it off in the least amount of time.

The researchers at Haverford College in Haverford, attached the birds across the United States and Europe with miniature helmet- and backpack-mounted video cameras to record them in action.

The study was published in The Journal of Experimental Biology.