🦅 Gyrfalcon vs Secretarybird 🦅
The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the gyrfalcon. The secretarybird weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Gyrfalcon | 🦅 Secretarybird |
|---|---|---|
| Size The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the gyrfalcon. | 21 to 22 in53 to 56 cm1 | 35 in to 3.9 ft90 cm to 1.2 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The secretarybird weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. | 1.8 to 4.6 lb800 g to 2.1 kg1 | 5.1 to 9.4 lb2.3 to 4.3 kg2 |
| Lives The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. | 14 years14 years1 | 19 years19 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds | insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests | open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara |
Which one? Gyrfalcon or secretarybird
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the gyrfalcon or the secretarybird 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 Secretarybird
- The gyrfalcon: A big falcon that lives on the northern tundra.
- The secretarybird: A tall African bird of prey that walks a long way each day.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the gyrfalcon: 2 against 1.
- The secretarybird weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the secretarybird.
- The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the secretarybird.
- Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
- The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. 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 secretarybird: in danger (Endangered 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.
🦅 Secretarybird
- A secretarybird walks a long way on foot each day.
- It has very long legs for a bird of prey.
- It can fly well, too.
Questions kids ask about Gyrfalcon and Secretarybird
Which is bigger, gyrfalcon or secretarybird?
The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the gyrfalcon: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, gyrfalcon or secretarybird?
The secretarybird weighs about twice as much as the gyrfalcon. That is 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the secretarybird.
Which lives longer, gyrfalcon or secretarybird?
The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the gyrfalcon. Usual lifespans: 1 for the gyrfalcon and 2 for the secretarybird.
What do gyrfalcon and secretarybird eat?
Both eat meat. The gyrfalcon eats ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrels and Arctic hares, and other small mammals and birds; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
Where do gyrfalcon and secretarybird live?
The gyrfalcon lives in mostly Arctic tundra, far from the northern forests. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, gyrfalcon or secretarybird?
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-secretarybird
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: Sagittarius serpentarius (secretarybird), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.