Bird Sightings: Gyr Falcon

Gyr Falcon (Juvenile: Grey morph)

Falco rusticolus

Gaelic: Gearr-sheabhag

Photography © Andy L
Stornoway - Isle of Lewis - Outer Hebrides (Western Isles)
November 2007

"...heres something a bit special it has to be confirmed and i have left pics with martin scott he is on the case but it appears to be a gyr falcon i took today on the outskirts of stornoway .It had just killed a young gull and was seen to be being mobbed by gulls and crows but due to its large size didn't seem at all bothered..."

Andy L

"Just to say that the falcon at Sandwick is a juvenile and not an adult. This is told by the plumage fringing and the grey colour of the cere (bill base) and feet.
Jury is still out if it is the real deal. If it is it will be (one of) the first modern day grey morph birds in British history!"

Martin, 13th November, 2007

RSPB Conservation Officer (Western Isles)

"Love the photo. Probably Gyr/Saker, but difficult to rule out Gyr/Pere.
Pure Gyr, in my opinion, ruled out by wing tip/tail proportions. Not necessarily juvenile, as Gyrs can show blue ceres and feet for at least a couple of years before going yellow (some captive birds, however, do go yellow rather more quickly as a result of a diet of day old chicks). It could almost be pure Saker (also blue ceres and feet when comparatively young), but eye looks a bit big and forward and the forehead looks a bit flat, and it doesn't look a quite warm enough brown, but ... Too brown, perhaps, for grey morph Gyr? It also just isn't bulky enough.

Over the years I have seen Gyr/Saker, Gyr/Pere, Gyr/Lanner, Gyr/Barbary, Gyr/Prairie and photos of Gyr/Merlin, though that last not in the flesh. I saw a Gyr/Pere only a few weeks ago that I could not tell wasn't a Gyr/Saker. ...Good luck"

Peter Wilkinson

• Gyr Falcon
• AKA: Gerfalcon, Gyrfalcon, falcon hawk
• Falco rusticolus
• 3 UK records a year, only 126 records 1958 - 2004 BTO
• Breeds: Arctic coasts & islands, Europe, North America, Asia, Greenland to North Siberia, North Canada,
• Winter: South to North Europe, Central Asia, North USA
• Habitat: Tundra, open forest, coastal
• Diet: medium-sized birds (but will take on a swan!) some mammals, (usually as flies low across ground)
• Largest, heaviest falcon species.Very strong. Longer-tailed bird & pointed wings are stockier & broader Peregrine's. Coloration ranges from almost all-white to very dark birds.

The g is pronounced like the j in jar

The Latin for a circle is gyrus. Unlike other falcons the gyr falcon circles as it searches for it's prey.

The gyr falcon (Falco rusticolus) is the largest of the falcons. Being a bird of tundra and mountains it breeds in the isolated arctic and sub-arctic regions.

A gyr falcon has long broad wings, long stout toes, a long square tail, and massive pectoral muscles which make it a very strong and powerful hunting bird.

Gyr falcon plumage colour ranges from almost pure white to completely black.

The Gyr Falcon used to be divided into several different subspecies. Nowadays the variations in the falcon are classified according to adult colour phase.

 

	Length	Wingspan	Weight (ranges from hunting to fat weight)
Males	48 - 61cm 19 - 24 inches	110 - 130 cm 43 - 51 inches	850 -1300g
Females	51 - 65cm 20 to 26 inches	124 - 160cm 49 - 64 inches	1400 - 2000g

The gyr falcon eats birds and mammals. Usually it's hunting flight is horizontal, prey killed on the ground. Bird prey can be as large as a goose, and include gulls, crows or even other raptors. Mammals can be the 3x the weight of the gyr falcon itself.

The only predator of gyrfalcons are Golden Eagles.

The male gyrfalcon is sometimes called a gyrkin.

 

Our Gyr Falcon photographs

Gyr /Saker Falcon Hybrid	Gyr Falcon

 

Frank's web site of his nature photography
www.frankstark.com

Other local bird photographs

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