Answer: Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine falcons are best known for their speed. The compact birds of prey—roughly the size of a large crow—are capable of reaching speeds over 200 miles per hour when diving to snatch their prey. The fasted recorded instance of a peregrine falcon in a high-speed dive is a staggering 242 miles per hour (for comparison, that’s about the top speed of a McLaren F1 car).

A lesser known bit of trivia about the peregrine falcon is that it’s the widest ranging bird of prey on Earth. Peregrine falcons can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests. The only major ice-free landmass from which they are entirely absent is New Zealand. The shape of a peregrine falcon outlined against the sky is a familiar sight to everyone from South America to the dry steppes of Asia. In fact, the only bird—raptor or otherwise—that outdoes the peregrine falcon in terms of reach across the world is the humble rock dove (rock pigeon).