Eli5: how do birds like Falcons come out of a 200+mph dive without being ripped apart by air resistance when they spread their wings?

Question

Like the title says. I know Falcons and raptors can dive at 200+ mph. So when they spread their wings to slow down how do they handle the insane force that they would be experiencing?

In: 160

Answer 1

Birds are not very heavy, so it takes very little force to stop that fall the moment they open their wings – instead of breaking their wings, they “bend” to where the air current takes them. (open wings, flapping, that direction would be up)

If they tried to stop a free fall and the bird was the size of a brontosaur or giraffe, no doubt the force required with be greater and the chance of breaking a limb would go up.

I think what I’m saying is: its not the air that breaks the wing, its the animal’s own momentum (mass*velocity), that wants to continue to fall.