RIYADH: A rare falcon breed has sold for $72,000 in the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA), held at Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) Grounds in Malham, North of Riyadh on Sunday.

The sold breed Saker Falcon is a most expensive in the Middle East breeders. It is 17 and a half inches in length (44-56 cm) with an estimated wingspan of 36 to 45 inches and 1,105 grammes in weight.

During IFBA, Al Aradi’s Farm from Saudi Arabia has seen intense competition to buy it and after the second night of the direct auction this exclusive bird was awarded to the Saudi falconer Moteb Munir Al Ayafi for $72,000, revealing that he will call it ‘Raghwan’. He aims to participate in Al Mazayen (falcon beauty pageant) competitions (local breeding), which gives the owner the most beautiful falcon prize range of $80,000, second place $53,000, and third place $26,000.

Al Ayafi further said that he inherited the hobby of falconry from his family, and has even won championships in Horse Beauty contests, and now seeks to compete in the Al Mazayen (falcon beauty pageant) competitions at the world’s largest event of its kind — the King Abdulaziz Falcon Festival (KAFF) — which was inducted into the Guinness World Book of Records. The event held twice in a row while its forthcoming fourth edition begins from November 28 until December 16, 2021.

As per reports, Saker Falcon is a large species of falcon, breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southermost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the Arabian Peninsula, northern Pakistan and western China. It is a national bird of United Arab Emirates including Hungary and Mongolia.