Gyr Falcon (Falco rusticolus)

9-12 years old

48 to 65 cm

110 to 160 cm

800-1350 g for males and 1200-2100 g for females

Description

• The Gyr Falcon is the largest falcon in the whole world! Their body length is about 50-65 cm long and their wingspan is between 1-1.5 metres!
• They have 3 types of appearances: white, dark, and grey. The white morph is generally found in Greenland, and is usually almost pure white with some markings usually on the wings. The dark morph is dark grey, almost black, and groups of this type are found in northern Canada. The grey morph usually has 2 tones of grey on the body (most easily seen on the flight feathers) and are found throughout the range.
• They're extremely strong and powerful birds with long pointed broad-wings, a square tail, long stout toes and massive chest muscles. Adults usually have yellow ceres (base of the beak), eye-rings and legs while the younger birds display these features in a blue color. Like with all types of falcons, the eyes appear black.

Location / Habitat

• This bird likes things a bit on the chilly side. They're found in the Polar Regions of North America, Europe, Asia, Greenland, and Iceland.
• Some migrate southwards for part of the winter but will never further than the northern US or central Russia.
• They can be found in both tundra (treeless plains) and taiga habitats (swampy coniferous areas) with cliffs along shorelines, rivers, or mountains.

Food

• Their diet is mainly birds but will also prey on small mammals like ground squirrels, hares and lemmings. Their main food of choice is a bird called the Arctic Ptarmigan.
• They rely on their super keen eyesight to spot potential prey. In the arctic, animals often are coloured to blend into their surroundings so falcons' eyes have to be able to see their prey!
• When they spy something they want, the chase will begin. Often the prey will be knocked to the ground by a powerful blow from the talons and then pounced upon.
• They're powerful enough to have sustained flight while hunting and will usually wear their prey out making the capture easy.
• They usually hunt in a low horizontal flight – as there are no trees in their open habitat to help hide them.

Breeding

• They reach sexual maturity around two to three years of age. They're monogamous and will stay with their mate until one of them dies.
• Their nests are usually built on cliff faces, with an overhanging cover or depression to help protect it from the chilly northern weather.
• They normally lay 1 to 7 eggs (usually 4). The eggs are laid at 2 to 3 day intervals during late April to early May while the temperature is -17 Celcius. The eggs are incubated for about 35 days. Most of the incubation is done by the female though the male will sometimes lend a hand. Um, talon.
• Due to cold climate, the chicks are covered in heavy down. That's a good thing becase they're left to keep themselves warm when they are only 10 days old because the mother goes off to join the male in hunting duties.
• The young can feed themselves at about a month old and no longer need their parents at about 2 months.

Threats

• Although they are listed as least concern, one of the main threats facing all arctic species is habitat loss due to global warming.