🦅 Golden eagle vs Gyrfalcon 🦅
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the gyrfalcon.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Golden eagle | 🦅 Gyrfalcon |
|---|---|---|
| Size The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. | 28 to 33 in70 to 84 cm1 | 21 to 22 in53 to 56 cm2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the gyrfalcon yet. | 80 mph129 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the gyrfalcon. | 6.6 to 14 lb3 to 6.1 kg1 | 1.8 to 4.6 lb800 g to 2.1 kg2 |
| Lives The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the gyrfalcon. | 32 years32 years1 | 14 years14 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles | 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. | open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America | mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests |
Which one? Golden eagle or gyrfalcon
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for 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 Golden eagle vs Gyrfalcon
- The golden eagle: A big brown bird of prey with very wide wings.
- The gyrfalcon: A big falcon that lives on the northern tundra.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon: 1 against 2.
- The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
- The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
- Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds.
- The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. 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 golden eagle: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The gyrfalcon: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🦅 Golden eagle
- A golden eagle can soar over open country with very wide wings.
- It lives from the seashore to high mountains.
- It eats mostly rabbits, hares and other small mammals.
🦅 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 Golden eagle and Gyrfalcon
Which is bigger, golden eagle or gyrfalcon?
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, golden eagle or gyrfalcon?
The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
Which lives longer, golden eagle or gyrfalcon?
The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the gyrfalcon.
What do golden eagle and gyrfalcon eat?
Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds.
Where do golden eagle and gyrfalcon live?
The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. 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, golden eagle 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/golden-eagle-vs-gyrfalcon
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle), 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.