This is Bird Note.

Jir falcons are majestic birds.

At two feet tall, they're the largest of all falcons.

And these powerful raptors can dive on prey at 130 miles per hour.

Geer falcons are circumpolar, nesting in the far north of Asia, North America, and Europe,

including Iceland and Greenland. The jeer falcons that nest in northern Greenland are especially

eye-catching. Their feathers are a bright, snowy white.

Geer falcons evolved as a distinct species in the Pleistocene era, around 100,000 years ago.

Their large size and warm feathering gave them an edge for nesting high in the Arctic.

Some spend the entire winter on frigid sea ice, hunting other birds.

Others travel south during the coldest parts of the year, sometimes even into the northern

United States.

Jeer Falcons reused the same nesting site year after year. Some nests have been occupied for 2,500 years.

Imagine. That means that jir falcons were feeding chicks at these nest sites when Sparta was just going to war with Athens.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

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