Gyrfalcons By Andy Jay Song
Table of Contents Introduction.............................................2 Appearance............................................3 Habitat.................................................4-5 Breeding.................................................6 Diet......................................................7-8 Glossary.................................................9 Citation.................................................10 About The Author..................................11
Gyrfalcons Guess what? Gyrfalcons don’t actually have any natural predators! Their population is affected by humans taking them captive from their habitats, and selling them to falconers.
Gyrfalcons are found all over the Northern Hemisphere, with birds in Northern America, Greenland and Northern Europe. Its plumage depends on the location of the bird, from colors of white to dark brown. For many centuries, gyrfalcons have been precious hunting birds, they were highly valued by Vikings. Gyrfalcons are also the national symbol of Iceland. Gyrfalcons are very widespread birds.
Gyrfalcons (jur-fawlkuhn), also spelled gerfalcons, are amazing birds. They are the biggest species of falcons in the world. They’re scientific name is known as the Falco Rusticolus, Falco meaning “Vulture” in German, because of the gyrfalcon’s large size, and Rusticolus meaning countryside-dweller. Gyrfalcons breed on the arctic coast, and on the northern islands of North America, Europe and Asia. Most gyrfalcons live around their breeding locations. But some disperse into other places after breeding, or in winter. Individual homeless birds can fly for very long distances looking for a home. Gyrfalcons are capable of much more than humans think they are capable of.
Gyrfalcon Habitat
! Gyrfalcons live and can survive in some of the toughest climates on earth. This resident of the arctic are a type of circumpolar species,found anywhere in the north pole. They nest in arctic and subarctic regions, like north America, Northern Europe, Northern Asia, Greenland and Iceland. Individual falcons that live in high arctic places migrate to more southern places during the winter.but, individuals that live in lower places tend to stay where they are, but some do also migrate south. Up to this day gyrfalcons are fine living in the harsh conditions of the arctic.
Gyrfalcons can be found all over the arctic. Gyrfalcons are found in tundras and taigas. They are usually found near bluffs and cliffs along coastlines and rivers. They can also be found in barren uplands and mountains. Sometimes when migrating gyrfalcons pass towns or settlements. If you travel to just any northern place you would probably be able to see a gyrfalcon.
The gyrfalcon breeding system can be very complicated, yet interesting. Gyrfalcons almost always nest on the face of a cliff. Breeding pairs don’t actually build their nest, and they usually use bare cliff ledges or an abandoned nest that used to belong to other birds. Golden eagles and ravens are usually the ones. The clutch range can be from 1 to 5 eggs. The average size of an egg is 58.46x45mm, the average weight is 62 g. The gyrfalcon incubation time is usually around 35 days. The weight of a hatchling is around 52 g. Gyrfalcons may seem simple,
Gyrfalcons come out to the open world at very young age.The chicks stay in their nests, usually for about 10 to 12 days. They leave their nest at 7 to 8 weeks of age. When the young immature gyrfalcons grow to about 3 to 4 months, they leave their parents and become independent. They may work with their siblings. Parents may shoo their children, or they might just decide to go out and live on their own at young age.
Breeding
Gyrfalcon egg
Gyrfalcons can come in many different colors and patterns, you can never be sure if a falcon you is a peregrine or a gyrfalcon. Adult gyrfalcons have broad chests, long broad wings, and long tails. Juveniles are similar to adults but they have more heavily marked breasts and bellies. Juveniles have a cere, and their feet are blue gray. Gyrfalcons are the biggest falcons in north america and their plumage can come in many different colors. There are three main color morphs, white, gray, and dark.If your mom says a falcon you see on the streets is a peregrine, you can never be sure.
Appearance
Gyrfalcon sitting on post
Diet Prey of the gyrfalcon, listed in order of paragraph Have you ever wondered what the gyrfalcon eats? Gyrfalcons are similar to other falcons, they mostly eat birds. They eat ground dwelling birds, like grouse and ptarmigan ( tahr-mi-guhn), but they also catch prey like seabirds and waterfowl, gyrfalcons also tend to eat land mammals, like ground squirrels, lemmings, voles, rabbits, hares and marmots. A Gyrfalcon’s main diet consists birds and mammals
I bet you never knew how a gyrfalcon catches it’s prey, or how it kills it’s prey. Gyrfalcons usually hunt using fast and low flight levels to chase and catch their prey. Before a gyrfalcon catches it’s prey, it flies up and then dives straight down onto it’s prey. The prey can be caught in the air, or on the water, or on the ground. Gyrfalcons are very interesting and mysterious when it comes to how they kill their prey, they have their own technique that they always use, no matter what.
Glossary Falco Rusticolus: The Gyrfalcon’s Scientific name Dweller: Live in this place Disperse: Spread over a wide area Individual: Single, alone, separate from others Capable: Able to do something Plumage: A bunch of feathers Vikings: Scandinavian pirate settlers in northwest Europe Widespread: Distributed over a large area Tundra: A vast, flat, arctic region Taiga: Sometimes swampy coniferous forest Barren: Land too poor to produce vegetation Circumpolar: Inhabiting one of the earth’s poles Subarctic: Regions immediately south of the arctic Migrate: move from one region to another Grouse: A medium large bird with a plump body, and feathered legs Ptarmigan: A northern grouse of mountainous and arctic regions Seabird: A bird that lives near seas and coasts Waterfowl: Large aquatic birds, like duck and geese Ground Squirrel: A highly social burrowing squirrel Lemming: A small, short tailed rodent found in arctic tundras Vole: a small burrowing mouselike rodent Marmot: a heavily built burrowing rodent, that lives in mountainous areas Clutch: A group of eggs laid together and incubated together
Citation Information: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gyrfalcon/lifehistory http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00180/gyrfalcon.htm http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/Gyrfalcon#sthash.lm9ZH8BS.dpbs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrfalcon http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Falco_rusticolus/
Images: http://www.bergoiata.org/fe/Rapaces/Up%20and%20Away,%20Gyrfalcon.jpg http://jeanene.steeman.org/Images/Giervalk-kaart.png http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/falc_rust_AllAm_map.gif http://www.nooga.com/assets/6fda4cd3403c715840145762e1d3a3b145247.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Falco_rusticolus_1.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5328/9724432241_1db772e1c4.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Falco_rusticolus_white_cropped.jpg http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/FF/FFE78845-4DC0-4E5E-BD33-256B9BB98DC8/Presentation.Large/Gyr-falcon-hunting-in-flight.jpg
http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/photos/gyrfalcon_1.jpg http://www.white-falcons.com/gallery/hunt/d5.jpg http://photos.zoochat.com/large/img_52592-139292.jpg
About The Author
My name is Andy Jay Song and I live in Shanghai, China. I was born in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. In my free time I like to read, play video games, write and draw. Personally, when I read I only accept good books. If I read a bad book I just don’t want to read it anymore. I thought of writing this book about gyrfalcons because when I wrote my reading letter, (a reading report) I wrote on a book called “Birds of Prey” I read about falcons in the book and became interested in falcons. So I decided to write this book about gyrfalcons.
Has anyone ever told you about gyrfalcons? If the answer is no, than this would be the perfect book for you! Even if the answer is yes, this would still be an interesting book. This book takes you into the world of gyrfalcons, tells you their secrets, and tells you the information beyond what you know! So if you want to know all that, just turn the front cover and you find... The portal to the world of gyrfalcons!