🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl vs Gyrfalcon 🦅
The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the gyrfalcon. The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl | 🦅 Gyrfalcon |
|---|---|---|
| Size The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the gyrfalcon. | 23 to 28 in58 to 71 cm1 | 21 to 22 in53 to 56 cm2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. | 3.5 to 9.3 lb1.6 to 4.2 kg1 | 1.8 to 4.6 lb800 g to 2.1 kg2 |
| Lives They are about the same. | 10 to 20 years10 to 20 years1 | 14 years14 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds | ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa | mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests |
Which one? Eurasian eagle-owl or gyrfalcon
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the eurasian eagle-owl or the gyrfalcon yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Eurasian eagle-owl vs Gyrfalcon
- The eurasian eagle-owl: A huge owl with orange eyes and ear tufts.
- The gyrfalcon: A big falcon that lives on the northern tundra.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the gyrfalcon: 1 against 2.
- The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
- They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
- Both eat meat. The eurasian eagle-owl eats rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds; the gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds.
- The eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa. The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The eurasian eagle-owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The gyrfalcon: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl
- A Eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- Females are bigger than males.
- It eats almost anything it can catch.
🦅 Gyrfalcon
- A gyrfalcon nests on the Arctic tundra.
- Female gyrfalcons are bigger than males.
- Most of its food is ptarmigan, a plump northern bird.
Questions kids ask about Eurasian eagle-owl and Gyrfalcon
Which is bigger, eurasian eagle-owl or gyrfalcon?
The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the gyrfalcon: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, eurasian eagle-owl or gyrfalcon?
The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
Which lives longer, eurasian eagle-owl or gyrfalcon?
They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
What do eurasian eagle-owl and gyrfalcon eat?
Both eat meat. The eurasian eagle-owl eats rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds; the gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds.
Where do eurasian eagle-owl and gyrfalcon live?
The eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa. The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, eurasian eagle-owl or gyrfalcon?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/eurasian-eagle-owl-vs-gyrfalcon
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Bubo bubo (Eurasian eagle-owl), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Falco rusticolus (gyrfalcon), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.