Gyrfalcon getting ready to lift off, Salt Lake County, Utah

Gyrfalcon Images, Facts and Information:

Falco rusticolus 

  • Gyrfalcons are the largest falcon species in the world. Gyrfalcons have pointed wings, tail is long, bodies are stout and powerful and they come in shades of white, gray and browns.
  • Gyrfalcons breed on arctic tundra and spend the winter in the northern tier of North America. During the winter their preferred habitats include, coastlines, beaches, dunes, open fields and shrubsteppe.
  • Gyrfalcons prey on birds as small as Snow Buntings and as large as owls and hawks. They will also eat hares, ground squirrels, young foxes and lemmings.
  • Gyrfalcons lay 1 to 8 eggs which take 28 to 36 days to hatch. The female incubates and they are monogamous.
  • A group of falcons can be called a “bazaar”, “eyrie”, “stooping up” and a “tower” of falcons.
  • Gyrfalcons may live from 15 to 30 years.

I hope you enjoy viewing my Gyrfalcon photos.