![]() The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse and avian marine species on coastal habitats. ![]() Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than with the peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. It feeds only on birds and mammals, the latter of which it takes more regularly than many other Falco species. The Gyrfalcon is larger than the Peregrine Falcon and differs from the buzzard in general structure, being unmistakably a falcon with pointed wings, and broader-winged and longer-tailed than the Peregrine. Females are bulkier and larger, at 51 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) long, 124 to 160 cm (49 to 64 in) wingspan, and of 1180 to 2100 g (2.6 to 4.6 lbs) weight. Males are 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) long, weigh 805 to 1350 g (1.8 to 3 lbs) and have a wingspan from 110 to 130 cm (43 to 51 in). The gyrfalcon is a very large falcon, being about the same size as the largest buteos (buzzard hawks). Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark brown. The Gyrfalcon is dispersed throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, with populations in Northern America, Greenland, and Northern Europe. ![]() It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. The Gyrfalcon, also spelled gerfalcon, - Falco rusticolus - is the largest of the falcon species.
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