Peregrine X Gyrfalcon Hybrid

A gyr x peregrine falcon is a captive-bred hybrid of a gyrfalcon and a peregrine falcon. It is the most common hybrid in Gulf falconry: at one Middle East falcon hospital it made up 71 percent of hybrid admissions from 2003 to 2007, and a Dubai study set blood reference values from 96 of these birds. Breeders value it for being larger than a peregrine and better suited to heat than a pure gyrfalcon. It is also flown for bird control, including pigeons at an Alberta power station. Female hybrids are almost always infertile.

To tell the parents apart, the peregrine is smaller with a dark slate helmet, and the gyrfalcon is larger with wings that reach about two-thirds of the way down its tail. In the United States both parents are protected migratory birds, so the hybrid is too. Owning one takes a state falconry permit or a federal raptor propagation permit, captive-bred birds wear seamless federal bands, sales go only to other permit holders, and a hybrid flown free must carry two transmitters and may never be released. Both parents are on CITES Appendix I, and the Eurasian peregrine subspecies is listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.