Gyrfalcon Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Gyrfalcons are very large falcons. They have pointed wings, but they are not as pointed or as narrow as the wings of smaller falcons. The tail is relatively long. The body is thick and powerful, particularly in females, which are substantially larger than males.

  Relative Size

  Males are slightly larger than a Peregrine Falcon; females are about the size of a Red-tailed Hawk.

  between crow and goose

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 18.9-25.2 in (48-64 cm)
    • Weight: 28.2-74.1 oz (800-2100 g)
    • Wingspan: 48.4 in (123 cm)

  © Joshua Vandermeulen / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Although the classic image of a Gyrfalcon is a regal white bird with black spotting, the birds occur in shades of white, gray, and dark brown. In North America, gray birds are more numerous than the other two morphs. Adults are heavily barred on the back, wings, and tail, with spotted underparts. Juveniles are heavily streaked; the flight feathers of dark juveniles are lighter and contrast with the rest of the wing.

• Behavior

  They hunt primarily birds in open country, sometimes flying high and attacking from above, but more often approaching fast and low, hugging ground contours. They often perch on the ground.
• Habitat

  Gyrfalcons breed on arctic tundra. When they come south for winter, they look for similar habitat: open fields, coastlines, dunes, prairie, and shrubsteppe.