Physics-based simulations of aerial attacks by peregrine falcons reveal that stooping at high speed maximizes catch success against agile prey
Fig 5
Catch success mapped onto intercept speed and navigation constant N for (a) non maneuvering, (b) smooth maneuvering and (c) non-smooth maneuvering prey.
The solid line denotes the optimal interception speed for a given N and the dashed line denotes the optimal N for a given interception speed. The asterisks denote the global optimum with respect to intercept speed and N for a given prey motion.