Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,907,556,112 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

gyrfalcon

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
gyr·fal·con also ger·fal·con  (jûrflkn, -fôl-, -fô-)
n.
A large falcon (Falco rusticolus) of Arctic regions, having color phases that range from black to gray to white.

[Middle English girfaucoun, from Old French girfaut, gerfaucon : Old High German gr, vulture + Old French faucon, falcon; see falcon.]

gyrfalcon, gerfalcon [ˈdʒɜːˌfɔːlkən -ˌfɔːkən]
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) a very large rare falcon, Falco rusticolus, of northern and arctic regions: often used for hunting
[from Old French gerfaucon, perhaps from Old Norse geirfalki, from geirr spear + falki falcon]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.gyrfalcon - large and rare Arctic falcon having white and dark color phasesgyrfalcon - large and rare Arctic falcon having white and dark color phases
falcon - diurnal birds of prey having long pointed powerful wings adapted for swift flight
Falco, genus Falco - a genus of Falconidae


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
 
A few years ago, Craves spotted a gyrfalcon on the grounds of Ford's world headquarters; as she spread the word, traffic jams formed as people flocked to see this rare Arctic bird.
Different social ranks had different birds under the Laws of Ownership - a king could have gyrfalcons, earls could have peregrines, priests could have sparrowhawks, while knaves would have the 'useless' kestrel.
Gyrfalcons live around the Arctic and range in colour from being almost exclusively white in Greenland to usually black in Labrador in Canada.
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.