Gyrfalcon

About 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. The gyrfalcon was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Falco rusticolus. The genus name is the Late Latin term for a falcon, Falco, from falx a sickle, referencing the talons of the bird. The species name is... Wikipedia →