🦅 Gyrfalcon vs King cobra 🐍
The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the gyrfalcon.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Gyrfalcon | 🐍 King cobra |
|---|---|---|
| Size The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the gyrfalcon. | 21 to 22 in53 to 56 cm1 | 10 to 12 ft3.1 to 3.7 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the king cobra yet. | 1.8 to 4.6 lb800 g to 2.1 kg1 | no checked number yet |
| Lives The king cobra lives a bit longer than the gyrfalcon. | 14 years14 years1 | 17 years17 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds | mostly other snakes |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests | forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China |
Which one? Gyrfalcon or king cobra
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the gyrfalcon or the king cobra 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.
9 things to know about Gyrfalcon vs King cobra
- The gyrfalcon: A big falcon that lives on the northern tundra.
- The king cobra: A very long snake that eats mostly other snakes.
- They are different kinds of animal. The gyrfalcon is a bird, so it has feathers and lays eggs; the king cobra is a reptile, so it has scaly skin.
- The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the gyrfalcon: 2 against 1.
- The king cobra lives a bit longer than the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the king cobra.
- Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
- The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The gyrfalcon: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The king cobra: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🦅 Gyrfalcon
- A gyrfalcon nests on the Arctic tundra.
- Female gyrfalcons are bigger than males.
- Most of its food is ptarmigan, a plump northern bird.
🐍 King cobra
- A king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
- It is longer than most grown-ups are tall.
- It lives near streams in forests, bamboo and swamps.
Questions kids ask about Gyrfalcon and King cobra
Which is bigger, gyrfalcon or king cobra?
The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the gyrfalcon: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, gyrfalcon or king cobra?
We only have a checked weight for the gyrfalcon: 1. Scientists are still working out the other.
Which lives longer, gyrfalcon or king cobra?
The king cobra lives a bit longer than the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the king cobra.
What do gyrfalcon and king cobra eat?
Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
Where do gyrfalcon and king cobra live?
The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, gyrfalcon or king cobra?
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/gyrfalcon-vs-king-cobra
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Falco rusticolus (gyrfalcon), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.