🦅 Peregrine falcon vs Sailfish 🐟
The sailfish is about 8 times as long as the peregrine falcon. The peregrine falcon is about 3 times as fast as the sailfish. The sailfish weighs about 60 times as much as the peregrine falcon.
| Row | 🦅 Peregrine falcon | 🐟 Sailfish |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The peregrine falcon is about 3 times as fast as the sailfish. | 200 mph322 km/h1 | 68 mph109 km/h2 |
| Weight The sailfish weighs about 60 times as much as the peregrine falcon. | 1.1 to 3.1 lb500 g to 1.4 kg3 | 128 lb58 kg4 |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the sailfish yet. | 20 years20 years3 | no checked number yet |
| Eats The peregrine falcon eats meat; the sailfish eats fish. | other birds, such as pigeons and ducks | small fish such as sardines and anchovies, and squid |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | every continent except Antarctica, on cliffs, coasts and tall city buildings | the warm Pacific and Indian oceans |
Which one? Peregrine falcon or sailfish
🏁 Who would win the race?
The peregrine falcon gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about 3 times as fast as the sailfish. It isn't quite fair: the peregrine falcon is diving through the air and the sailfish is swimming.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
Compare two more
Getting the animals ready…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/peregrine-falcon-vs-sailfish
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Denali and Yukon-Charley Rivers, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts feed ('What is the fastest fish in the ocean?'), checked 30 October 2026.
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fishery Bulletin 78(3), 1980 (Beardsley and others, Atlantic sailfish), checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean (Istiophorus platypterus), checked 30 October 2026.