Saker X Gyrfalcon Hybrid

A gyr x saker falcon is a captive-bred hybrid of a gyrfalcon and a saker falcon. Both parents are large hierofalcons and look alike: the gyrfalcon is the bigger bird, with wings that reach only about two-thirds of the way down its tail when perched, while sakers show pale spots rather than bars on the tail. Breeders cross them for a falcon larger than a pure saker that copes with heat better than a pure gyrfalcon. Arab falconers fly them, and in Europe they are used for bird control. They are fertile, so back-crosses are bred too.

In the United States this hybrid counts as a protected migratory bird because its gyrfalcon parent is on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act list (50 CFR 10.12). There is no pet route. A buyer needs a state falconry permit or a federal raptor propagation permit, captive-bred birds must wear a seamless federal band fitted within two weeks of hatching, and they may be sold only to other permit holders where the state allows it. A hybrid flown free must carry two working radio transmitters and may never be released to the wild. For import or export it is treated as CITES Appendix I.