🦅 Gyrfalcon vs Red-tailed hawk 🦅
The gyrfalcon and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size. The gyrfalcon weighs about one and a half times as much as the red-tailed hawk.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Gyrfalcon | 🦅 Red-tailed hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Size They are about the same size. | 21 to 22 in53 to 56 cm1 | 19 to 26 in48 to 65 cm2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The gyrfalcon weighs about one and a half times as much as the red-tailed hawk. | 1.8 to 4.6 lb800 g to 2.1 kg1 | 1.8 to 2.7 lb800 g to 1.2 kg2 |
| Lives The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. | 14 years14 years1 | 22 years22 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds | mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests | open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America |
Which one? Gyrfalcon or red-tailed hawk
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the gyrfalcon or the red-tailed hawk 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 Gyrfalcon vs Red-tailed hawk
- The gyrfalcon: A big falcon that lives on the northern tundra.
- The red-tailed hawk: A common hawk that watches for small animals from high perches.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The gyrfalcon and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size: 2 against 1.
- The gyrfalcon weighs about one and a half times as much as the red-tailed hawk. That is 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
- The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The red-tailed hawk lives in open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America. 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 red-tailed hawk: doing fine (Least Concern 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.
🦅 Red-tailed hawk
- A red-tailed hawk watches for food from a high perch.
- Most of its food is small rodents.
- It lives in parks and farm fields as well as grassland.
Questions kids ask about Gyrfalcon and Red-tailed hawk
Which is bigger, gyrfalcon or red-tailed hawk?
The gyrfalcon and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, gyrfalcon or red-tailed hawk?
The gyrfalcon weighs about one and a half times as much as the red-tailed hawk. That is 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
Which lives longer, gyrfalcon or red-tailed hawk?
The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
What do gyrfalcon and red-tailed hawk eat?
Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
Where do gyrfalcon and red-tailed hawk live?
The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The red-tailed hawk lives in open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, gyrfalcon or red-tailed hawk?
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-red-tailed-hawk
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: Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.