Explore.org on Wednesday tweeted a quiz to viewers, asking them to identify the species of falcon that photobombed one of its Arctic live-cam feeds.
“The largest falcon in the world, a rare winter visitor: can you guess the name of this bird sighted on our live cam?” Explore asked.
It didn’t take long for someone to identify the gorgeous raptor as a gyrfalcon, or ghostly gyrfalcon, which is seen curiously examining the camera housing.
The largest falcon in the world, a rare winter visitor: can you guess the name of this bird sighted on our live cam? pic.twitter.com/6aYdWj4nmY
— explore.org (@exploreorg) October 19, 2022
Gyrfalcons are the world’s largest falcons, with wingspans of 4 feet. The rarely seen birds of prey nest in remote stretches of Canada and Alaska, where human presence is nil or minimum.
In the winter, they’re sometimes spotted in open regions of the northern U.S.
The Cornell Lab or Ornithology’s All About Birds website provides this overview:
“The largest falcon in the world, the ghostly Gyrfalcon is a fierce predator in the High Arctic, where it chases down ptarmigans in flight or plummets from the sky at breathtaking speeds to strike prey to the ground.”
Besides ptarmigan, gyrfalcons (pronounced JER-falcons) will hunt sage grouse, terns, pheasants, jaegers, and other bird species. They also prey on small mammals such as hares.
Female gyrfalcons are larger than males, weighing an average of 4 pounds.
States All About Birds: “During the breeding season, a family of Gyrfalcons needs an estimated 2–3 pounds of food per day. That’s about 2-3 ptarmigans per day, which adds up to about 150-200 ptarmigan consumed between courtship and fledging.”