• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	37,100,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	50,500,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	12600-55300 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2021
Population trend	stable	-	inferred	-
Generation length	7.73 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Partners in Flight (2020) estimate the population in Canada and the USA to be c.42,000 mature individuals, and the global population to be c.83,000 mature individuals. However, Franke et al. (2019) estimate the population in Canada and the USA to be just 1,860-3,725 breeding pairs (equating to 3,720-7,450 mature individuals), and the global population to be 6,301-10,278 breeding pairs (equating to 12,602-20,556 mature individuals). The European population is estimated at 1,000-1,800 pairs, which equates to 2,000-3,500 mature individuals (BirdLife International in prep.). Europe forms approximately 13% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 15,400-26,900 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. It is placed in the band 12,600-55,300 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The overall trend is thought to be stable (Franke et al. 2019). In North America, the species has undergone a decline over the last five decades, at a rate equivalent to 18% over the last three generations (Partners in Flight 2020). Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America. In Europe, the population trend size is estimated to be stable (BirdLife International in prep.). The Russian population trend is also thought to be relatively stable (Russia constitutes approximately 37% of the species's total range) (Potapov 2011).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Austria	extant	vagrant
Belgium	extant	vagrant
Bermuda (to UK)	extant	vagrant				yes
Brazil	extant	vagrant
Canada	extant	native			yes	yes
China (mainland)	extant	native
Czechia	extant	vagrant
Denmark	extant	vagrant
Estonia	extant	vagrant			yes
Finland	extant	native	yes
France	extant	native
Germany	extant	vagrant
Greenland (to Denmark)	extant	native	yes
Iceland	extant	native	yes
Ireland	extant	vagrant
Japan	extant	native
Kazakhstan	extant	vagrant
Kyrgyzstan	extant	vagrant
Latvia	extant	vagrant
Mexico	extant	native
Netherlands	extant	vagrant
Norway	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	extant	vagrant
Poland	extant	vagrant
Portugal	extant	vagrant
Russia	extant	native	yes	yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (Central Asian)	extant	native	yes
Russia (European)	extant	native		yes
Spain	extant	vagrant
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	vagrant			yes	yes
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway)	extant	vagrant
Sweden	extant	native	yes
Switzerland	extant	vagrant
Ukraine	extant	vagrant
United Kingdom	extant	vagrant
USA	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Finland	Käsivarsi fjelds
Finland	Northern Kaldoaivi wilderness
Greenland (to Denmark)	South coast of Germania Land, and Slaedelandet
Norway	Alta-Kautokeino watercourse
Norway	Dovrefjell
Norway	Hardangervidda
Norway	Øvre Anárjohka
Norway	Reisa
Norway	Varanger Peninsula
Russia (Asian)	Chelomdzha valley and Kava-Chelomdzha interfluve
Russia (Asian)	Kolyma delta
Russia (Asian)	Volochanka river basin
Russia (European)	Lapland Biosphere Reserve
Russia (European)	Middle reaches of Bolshaya Rogovaya river
Russia (European)	Ponoiskaya depression
Russia (European)	Seven islands
Russia (European)	Torna-Shoina watershed
Russia (European)	Yugyd Va
Sweden	Frostviken
Sweden	Lake Ånn – Storlien
Sweden	Lake Tjålme – Valley of Lais
Sweden	Påkketan
Sweden	Sjaunja
Sweden	Tavvavouma
Sweden	Vindel Mountains (including Lake Tärna)

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Boreal	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Tundra	major	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	suitable	breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 1500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species disturbance
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/gyrfalcon-falco-rusticolus on 24/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 24/12/2024.