However research using recently available DNA analysis has revealed some surprising results. Gyrfalcons, Laggars, and Lanners are closely related, but Sakers, while closely related to Gyrfalcons, are also related to Peregrines. Prairie falcons and Sakers seem to be very much alike, but the DNA studies are showing that Prairies are more closely related to Peregrines than to the other desert falcons. Gyrfalcon With a wing span of 51 to 63 inches, gyrfalcons are the largest falcons. They vary in color from almost wholly white through gray to vary dark.
Gyrfalcons are residents of the arctic and sub-arctic.
They feed mainly on birds, chiefly ptarmigan, but they also take mammals up to the size of Arctic hares, which weigh 6 to 15 pounds. Very powerful and fast fliers, they sometimes catch birds by flying them down in chases that can go for miles. Saker Slightly smaller than gyrfalcons, wing span 40 to 50 inches. Sakers are residents of Asia and Eastern Europe, highly migratory, they are found in north-east Africa in winter. As with gyrfalcons, color varies widely.