Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus Linnaeus, 1758
The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae, subfamily Falconinae, order Falconiformes. It is a medium-sized bird with a representative adult body mass of 1.4 kg, with reported values from 1.1 to 1.7 kg, and a wingspan of 58 cm, with reported values from 50 to 66 cm.
Quick facts about the gyrfalcon
The gyrfalcon is a migratory, aerial carnivore of grassland habitat with a geographic range of 8,809,000 km², and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category. It lays one clutch per year of 3.6 eggs on average, incubates the eggs for 35 days and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years.
- Weight
- 1.13 kg – 1.74 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 50 cm – 66 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.9 years – 13.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.61src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 24 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the gyrfalcon?
Photos of the gyrfalcon
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the gyrfalcon live?
Not recorded
What is the gyrfalcon?
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (Falco rusticolus), also abbreviated as gyr, is a bird of prey and the largest species in the falcon family, Falconidae. A high-latitude species, the gyrfalcon breeds on the Arctic coasts and tundra, the islands of northern North America and Siberia, where it is mainly a resident species. Some gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season or in winter, and individual vagrancy can take birds for long distances. Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark grey-brown. These colour variations are called morphs. Like other falcons, it shows sexual dimorphism, with the female much larger than the male.
For centuries, the gyrfalcon has been valued as a hunting bird. Typical prey includes the ptarmigan and waterfowl, which it may attack in flight; and it also hunts fish and small mammals.
From the Wikipedia article “Gyrfalcon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gyrfalcon&oldid=1384402173), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the gyrfalcon sound like?
Is the gyrfalcon endangered?
The gyrfalcon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the gyrfalcon classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderFalconiformes
- familyFalconidae
- genusFalco
- SpeciesFalco rusticolus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Falco albidus, Falco candicans, Falco gyrfalco, Falco gyrfalco groenlandicus, Falco gyrfalco norwegicus, Falco gyrfalxo, Falco holboelli, Falco islandicus, Falco islandus, Falco labradora, Falco rupestris, Falco rusticolus candicans, Falco rusticolus gyrfalco, Falco rusticolus islandus, Falco rusticolus obsoletus, Falco rusticolus rusticolus, Falco rusticolus uralensis, Falco rusticulus, Gyrfalco candicans
Other names and names in other languages (94)
- Bird of KingsEnglish
- Black gyrfalconEnglish
- GerfalconEnglish
- Gray gyrfalconEnglish
- Greenland falconEnglish
- Grey gyrfalconEnglish
- GyrEnglish
- Gyr falconEnglish
- Gyr falconEnglish
- Iceland falconEnglish
- Jer falconEnglish
- Labrador Jer falconEnglish
- White gyrfalconEnglish
- GyrfugolOld English
- جيرArabic
- سنقرArabic
- سنقورArabic
- شنقارArabic
- شاهين البحرArabic
- gyr جيرArabic
- Falcón marinoAragonese
- falcón nortieguAsturian
- КрэчатBelarusian
- Голям соколBulgarian
- Северен соколBulgarian
- Gerfalc'hunBreton
- grifóCatalan
- Falcó sagratCatalan
- Ҫурҫӗр кӑйкӑрӗChuvash
- raroh loveckýCzech
- Hebog chwyldroWelsh
- hebog y gogleddWelsh
- Hebogiaid y GogleddWelsh
- jagtfalkDanish
- GerfalkeGerman
- ΓυρογέρακοGreek
- ĉasfalkoEsperanto
- Halcón gerifalteSpanish
- jahipistrikEstonian
- tunturihaukkaFinnish
- FalkurFaroese
- VeiðifalkurFaroese
- Faucon gerfautFrench
- JachtfalkWestern Frisian
- Fabhcún mórIrish
- seabhag mhòrScottish Gaelic
- seabhag gheàrrScottish Gaelic
- Seabhag Mhòr na SeilgScottish Gaelic
- seabhagan geàrraScottish Gaelic
- seabhagan mòraScottish Gaelic
- Falcón albarGalician
- Shawk EeslanaghManx
- Shawk EeslynnaghManx
- בזHebrew
- בז ארקטיHebrew
- בז צפוןHebrew
- veliki sokolCroatian
- északi sólyomHungarian
- GerfalkoIdo
- KingavikInuktitut
- FálkiIcelandic
- GrænlandsfálkiIcelandic
- HvítfálkiIcelandic
- girfalcoItalian
- girifalcoItalian
- シロハヤブサJapanese
- kissaviarsukKalaallisut
- Пора ылачынkjn
- АқсұңқарKazakh
- 흰매Korean
- 백송고리Korean
- GerfallekLuxembourgish
- medžioklinis sakalasLithuanian
- medību piekūnsLatvian
- Цагаан шонхорMongolian
- jaktfalkNorwegian Bokmål
- giervalkDutch
- białozórPolish
- gerifaltePortuguese
- falcão-gerifaltePortuguese
- Falcun dal nordRomansh
- RievssatfálliNorthern Sami
- duottarfálliNorthern Sami
- goahppilfálliNorthern Sami
- Sokol loveckýSlovak
- sokol poľovníckySlovak
- arktični sokolSlovenian
- Norveški sokolSlovenian
- Severni sokoSerbian
- ak sungurTurkish
- Аннар шаңгырTuvinian
- КречетUkrainian
- 矛隼Chinese
- 海東青Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the gyrfalcon
Other species in the same genus Falco.
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
Common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian hobby
Falco subbuteo
Merlin
Falco columbarius
Red-footed falcon
Falco vespertinus
Lesser kestrel
Falco naumanni
CompareGyrfalcon vs Peregrine falconGyrfalcon vs Common kestrelGyrfalcon vs Eurasian hobbyGyrfalcon vs Merlin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the gyrfalcon?
The gyrfalcon is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae and the order Falconiformes. Other English names for it include Gyr, Gerfalcon, Jer falcon and Bird of Kings.
How heavy is a gyrfalcon?
An adult Gyrfalcon has a representative body mass of 1.4 kg, with reported values from 1.1 to 1.7 kg.
What is the wingspan of a gyrfalcon?
The gyrfalcon has a wingspan of 58 cm, with reported values from 50 to 66 cm.
What does the gyrfalcon eat?
The gyrfalcon is a carnivore.
What habitat does the gyrfalcon live in?
The gyrfalcon lives in grassland habitat and is a migratory bird.
Is the gyrfalcon endangered?
No. The IUCN lists the gyrfalcon as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a gyrfalcon live?
The gyrfalcon has a lifespan of 12.9 years, with values up to 13.5 years reported.
Who named the gyrfalcon?
The gyrfalcon was named Falco rusticolus by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gyrfalcon
“Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/gyrfalcon.
@misc{gyrfalcon_2026,
title = {Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/gyrfalcon},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}