The fastest animals in the world
The top 3 according to 98 votes from people: Peregrine falcon · Golden eagle · Mexican free-tailed bat. (Updated Aug 9, 2021.)
The fastest animals by top recorded speed, according to Wikipedia's list of fastest animals. Divers like the peregrine falcon win easily; on land, the cheetah. Speeds are approximate maximums.
Top 20
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1
Peregrine falcon
About 389 km/h (242 mph), diving. The fastest animal on Earth, reaching about 389 km/h (242 mph) in its hunting stoop.
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2
Golden eagle
About 320 km/h (199 mph), diving. Can reach around 240-320 km/h when diving on prey.
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3
Mexican free-tailed bat
About 160 km/h (99 mph), level flight. Claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal.
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4
Black marlin
About 129 km/h (80 mph), swimming. A hooked marlin has been clocked stripping line off a reel at 129 km/h.
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5
White-throated needletail
About 169 km/h (105 mph), level flight. Considered the fastest bird in flapping flight.
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6
Frigatebird
About 153 km/h (95 mph), flight. Helped by the largest wing area for its weight of any bird.
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7
Eurasian hobby
About 160 km/h (99 mph), level flight. Fast enough to catch swifts in the air.
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8
Grey-headed albatross
About 127 km/h (79 mph), flight.
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9
Pronghorn
About 88 km/h (55 mph), running. The fastest over long distances: about 56 km/h for 6 km.
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10
Springbok
About 88 km/h (55 mph), running. A southern African antelope famous for its high leaps.
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11
Gyrfalcon
About 209 km/h (130 mph), diving. The largest falcon in the world.
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12
Thomson's gazelle
About 80 km/h (50 mph), running. Can outlast cheetahs through sheer endurance.
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13
Spur-winged goose
About 142 km/h (88 mph), flight.
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14
Ostrich
About 97 km/h (60 mph), running. The fastest animal on two legs.
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15
Austrophlebia costalis (dragonfly)
About 98 km/h (61 mph), flight. The fastest verified insect flight.
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16
Rock dove (pigeon)
About 149 km/h (93 mph), flight. Racing pigeons have been clocked at 92.5 mph (149 km/h).
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17
Sailfish
About 109 km/h (68 mph), swimming and leaping. Measured covering 91 metres in 3 seconds, including leaps out of the water.
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18
Quarter Horse
About 88 km/h (55 mph), running. The American breed named for winning quarter-mile sprints.
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19
Anna's hummingbird
About 98 km/h (61 mph), courtship dive. One of the fastest vertebrates relative to its size.
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20
Cheetah
About 110 km/h (68 mph), running. The fastest land animal, at about 100-120 km/h in short sprints.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 20… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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21
Blue wildebeest
About 80 km/h (50 mph), running.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (2)
The peregrine falcon diving at over 300 km/h is insane.
The peregrine falcon in a dive goes over 380 km/h, insane.