Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Falconiformes > Falconidae > Falco > Falco rusticolus

Falco rusticolus (Gyrfalcon)

Synonyms:
Language: French

Wikipedia Abstract

The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) (/ˈdʒɜːrfɔːlkən/ or /ˈdʒɜːrfælkən/), also spelled gerfalcon, is a bird of prey, the largest of the falcon species. The abbreviation gyr is also seen in the literature. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly a resident there also, but some gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter. Individual vagrancy can take birds for long distances. Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark 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 a precious hunting bird, highly valued among the Vikings. Typical
View Wikipedia Record: Falco rusticolus

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
1
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
12
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 3.60939
EDGE Score: 1.5281
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  3.512 lbs (1.593 kg)
Birth Weight [3]  52 grams
Female Weight [6]  3.863 lbs (1.752 kg)
Male Weight [6]  2.579 lbs (1.17 kg)
Weight Dimorphism [6]  49.7 %
Breeding Habitat [2]  Arctic tundra
Wintering Geography [2]  Northern U.S./Canada
Wintering Habitat [2]  Generalist
Diet [4]  Carnivore (Vertebrates)
Diet - Endothermic [4]  100 %
Forages - Aerial [4]  10 %
Forages - Mid-High [4]  10 %
Forages - Understory [4]  10 %
Forages - Ground [4]  70 %
Clutch Size [7]  4
Clutches / Year [3]  1
Fledging [5]  48 days
Global Population (2017 est.) [2]  77,000
Incubation [3]  35 days
Mating Display [8]  Acrobatic aerial display
Maximum Longevity [3]  14 years
Raptor Research Conservation Priority [9]  133
Snout to Vent Length [5]  22 inches (57 cm)
Wing Span [10]  3.936 feet (1.2 m)
Female Maturity [3]  2 years
Male Maturity [3]  2 years

Ecoregions

Protected Areas

+ Click for partial list (100)Full list (102)

Ecosystems

Important Bird Areas

Biodiversity Hotspots

Name Location Endemic Species Website
Japan Japan No

Emblem of

Iceland
Northwest Territories

Prey / Diet

Prey / Diet Overlap

Predators

Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle)[11]
Falco rusticolus (Gyrfalcon)[11]

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus[15]

Range Map

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Storchová, Lenka; Hořák, David (2018), Data from: Life-history characteristics of European birds, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n6k3n
♦ 2Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2017. Accessed on January 2018.
♦ 3de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774
♦ 4Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 5Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 6Brown, L., and D. Amadon. 1968. Eagles, hawks, and falcons of the world. McGraw-Hill, New York.
♦ 7Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303
♦ 8Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 9Buechley ER, Santangeli A, Girardello M, et al. Global raptor research and conservation priorities: Tropical raptors fall prey to knowledge gaps. Divers Distrib. 2019;25:856–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12901
♦ 10Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
♦ 11Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 12POTAPOV, E. 2011. Gyrfalcon diet: Spatial and temporal variation In R. T. Watson, T. J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov (Eds.). Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a Changing World. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho, USA
♦ 13Exploring the Denali Food Web, ParkWise, National Park Service
♦ 14Lepus arcticus, Troy L. Best and Travis Hill Henry, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 457, pp. 1-9 (1994)
♦ 15International Flea Database
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0