# Saker falcon (*Falco cherrug*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/saker-falcon  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae, order Falconiformes. It is a migratory carnivore of grassland, with an adult body mass from 870 g to 1.13 kg and a wingspan from 97 cm to 1.26 m. It lays one clutch per year of 4 eggs, which are incubated for 29 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the saker falcon as Endangered (EN), a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 870 g – 1.13 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 97 cm – 1.26 m |
| Lifespan | 15.9 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 25 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 29 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.9 – 4 |
| Age at maturity | 23.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Falconiformes
- family: Falconidae
- genus: Falco
- species: *Falco cherrug* J. E. Gray, 1834

## Common questions

### Is the saker falcon endangered?

Yes. The saker falcon is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How big is a saker falcon?

An adult Saker falcon weighs from 870 g to 1.13 kg, with a representative value of 961.2 g. Its wingspan ranges from 97 cm to 1.26 m.

### What does the saker falcon eat?

The saker falcon is a carnivore.

### What habitat does the saker falcon live in?

The saker falcon lives in grassland. It is a migratory bird.

### How long does a saker falcon live?

Sources give a lifespan of 15.92 years for the saker falcon, with values up to 25 years.

### How many eggs does a saker falcon lay?

The saker falcon lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 29 days.

### What kind of animal is the saker falcon?

The saker falcon is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae and the genus Falco.

### Who named the saker falcon?

The saker falcon, Falco cherrug, was named by J. E. Gray, 1834.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Saker falcon (Falco cherrug). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/saker-falcon