The gyrfalcon is the largest falcon in the world. A gyrfalcon is somewhat larger than a peregrine falcon. Gyrfalcons live in the far north, in the Arctic, and they are top predators in the Arctic.

Gyrfalcons come in white, gray, and dark forms, called morphs. White gyrfalcons are found mainly in Greenland.

A gyrfalcon is about 20 to 25 inches long, and its wings spread about four feet from tip to tip. A female is bigger than a male. A male weighs about 800 to 1,350 grams, and a grown female can weigh as much as about 2.1 kilograms (about 4.5 pounds).

In the Middle Ages, only a king could hunt with a gyrfalcon.

As of 2026, the IUCN Red List lists the gyrfalcon as Least Concern.

A gyrfalcon often hunts by flying fast and low over the ground, and it usually hunts in a level chase rather than a steep dive, and it may chase its prey over long distances.

Gyrfalcons eat mostly other birds, and ptarmigan are the gyrfalcon's main food. A gyrfalcon also eats waterfowl and seabirds, and some small mammals, such as ground squirrels and hares.

Most gyrfalcons stay in the far north all year. In winter some gyrfalcons move south, and some stay in their territories. In winter a few gyrfalcons come south to the northern edge of the United States.

Male gyrfalcons begin defending a nesting territory in mid-winter. Gyrfalcons often return to the same nest site year after year, and a gyrfalcon does not build its own nest. It nests on cliffs. Sometimes a gyrfalcon lays its eggs on a bare cliff ledge with no nest, and some use an old nest that another bird, such as a raven, built.

A gyrfalcon usually lays three or four eggs. The eggs take about five weeks to hatch. Adult gyrfalcons bring food to the nest for their young.

Words to know

• ptarmigan: a bird
• morphs: color forms
• prey: hunted animals
• territory: a home area