Siberian tundra peregrine (calidus)
Larger and paler than European peregrine: pale blue-grey back, pale forehead, narrower moustache.
Care: Gulf favourite for houbara; a migrant, so needs cooling in summer.
Falcon species and hybrids
Species
- Gyrfalconincubation 34–36 d · weaning 90–120 d
- Saker falconincubation 32–36 d · weaning 75–95 d
- Peregrine falconincubation 29–33 d · weaning 75–100 d
- Harris's hawkincubation 31–36 d · weaning 100 d
- Barbary falconincubation 29–32 d · weaning 70–90 d
- Lanner falconincubation 32–35 d · weaning 70–90 d
- Common kestrelincubation 27–31 d · weaning 60 d
- Northern goshawkincubation 35–38 d · weaning 80–90 d
- Laggar lugger falconincubation 32–35 d · weaning 70–90 d
- Prairie falconincubation 29–33 d · weaning 65 d
- Aplomado falconincubation 31–32 d · weaning 70 d
- Merlinincubation 28–32 d · weaning 55 d
- American kestrelincubation 29–31 d · weaning 50 d
- Red-tailed hawkincubation 28–35 d · weaning 100 d
- Eurasian sparrowhawkincubation 32–35 d · weaning 50 d
- Golden eagleincubation 41–45 d · weaning 150–180 d
- Eurasian hobbyincubation 28–34 d · weaning 60 d
- Bonelli's eagleincubation 37–40 d · weaning 120 d
Hybrids and subspecies
Mediterranean peregrine (brookei)
Smaller and darker, dark head, broad moustache, rusty-tinted underparts.
Care: Resident; more heat-tolerant than calidus.
Peale's peregrine (pealei)
Largest subspecies, very dark with heavy teardrop spotting below.
Care: Used on farms to breed big peregrines and heavy gyr × peregrines.
American peregrine (anatum)
Pale reddish breast, broad moustache.
Care: Common in North American breeding projects.
Tundra peregrine (tundrius)
Paler than anatum, narrower moustache and wings.
Care: Long-distance migrant.
Black shaheen (peregrinator)
Very dark, near-black head, chestnut underparts, long middle toe.
Care: Resident in India/Pakistan; historically famed among Mughal/Indian falconers.
Red-naped shaheen (babylonicus)
Very pale; forehead, nape (sometimes whole head) rufous/peach, thin moustache, creamy lightly spotted breast.
Care: Lumped with barbary as 'mountain shaheen' by many falconers; heat-tolerant.
Altai falcon
Big dark saker, many grey and cross-barred like a gyr; once thought a natural gyr × saker hybrid, recent genetics place it within Asian sakers.
Care: Historically highly prized; dark 'sinjari' sakers are often of this type.
Gyr × saker
Big, broad-chested, long tail, faint/thin moustache; back brown-grey to silver depending on the gyr parent; juvenile brown streaked with bluish cere/feet.
Care: Gyr power with saker heat tolerance; fertile and backcrosses freely.
Gyr × peregrine
More peregrine-like than a gyr: darker hood and clearer moustache, longer pointed wings, longer toes and shorter tail than a gyr.
Care: Most popular Gulf hybrid for speed and power; females less fertile than gyr × saker (embryo death reported).
Gyr × barbary
Smaller than gyr × peregrine; nape may show rufous; pale grey back.
Care: Bred for a smaller, faster, more heat-tolerant falcon.
Peregrine × saker
Sandy brown to grey, moustache intermediate, head paler than peregrine.
Care: Used in Europe for corvids; more heat-tolerant than peregrine.
Peregrine × lanner (perilanner)
Rufous-tinged crown, broader moustache than lanner.
Care: Calm, easy, heat-tolerant.
Gyr × prairie
May show prairie's dark underwing 'armpits'.
Care: Aggressive, fast, relatively heat-tolerant.
Peregrine × prairie
Intermediate.
Care: A wild breeding of this hybrid was recorded (Saskatchewan 1985-87).
Peregrine × merlin
Small compact falcon with clear moustache.
Care: Takes starlings where pure merlins fail.
Lanner × laggar
Rufous crown with darker thighs than lanner.
Care: Calm, heat-hardy.
3/4 gyr × saker
From pure gyr × 1/2 gyr-saker; looks very close to a gyr.
Care: Nearly as heat-sensitive as a gyr.
3/4 gyr × peregrine
From pure gyr × 1/2 gyr-peregrine; bigger, fainter moustache than the 1/2.
Care: Prized for size; heat-sensitive.
7/8 gyr × saker (same rule for × peregrine)
Pure gyr × 3/4 gyr; usually indistinguishable from pure gyr by eye - prove with papers/DNA.
Care: Manage as a gyr.
Tri-hybrid gyr/saker/peregrine
Example: pure gyr × (saker × peregrine) = 1/2 gyr, 1/4 saker, 1/4 peregrine. Very variable look.
Care: Mixes power, speed and some heat tolerance.