RIYADH: A gyr hybrid falcon chick fetched SR151,000 ($40,000) at auction on Tuesday, becoming the most expensive sale so far at a gathering of international bird of prey breeders in Malham, north of the Saudi capital.
The bidding for the Mathlouth gyr super white, from the Slovenian breeder GP, started at SR50,000. The Farkh, a bird less than a year old, is 17in in length and 16in in height and weighs around 1,050 grams.
The identity of the buyer has not been revealed and it is usual practice for the bird to named after it has been sold
But the hybrid was not the only bird sold on Tuesday, the fourth night of the International Falcon Breeders Auction, an annual gathering that brings together the biggest traders in the industry.
Bidders also competed for a gyr shaheen falcon, from British breeder YLS, with the 1,170 gram dark brown chick eventually selling for SR51,000.
