Eurasian Hobby ( Falco subbuteo, family: Falconidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Hobby Falcon

eurasian hooby kruger national park birds The Eurasian Hobby (Latin name Falco subbuteo) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 173 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 554 also a picture of the Eurasian Hobby on page 529. The Eurasian Hobby belongs to the family of birds classified as Falconidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Eurasian Hobby is also known by these other names: European Hobby, Hobby, Hobby Falcon, Northern Hobby.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Eurasian Hobby was called the Hobby Falcon

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Eurasian Hobby is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a rare summer resident

In terms of distribution of the Eurasian Hobby in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Eurasian Hobby : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Eurasian Hobby is a bird a little bit bigger than a starling. The height of the Eurasian Hobby is about 36 cms and its weight is about 200 gms

The male and female Eurasian Hobby have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is grey.
  • Throat is white, black.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are yellow.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Eurasian Hobby feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Other Birds

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Eurasian Hobby is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Falco subbuteo will seek out a new mate

Nesting habit is unknown.

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Eurasian Hobby are: woodlands

You can see Eurasian Hobby in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Europese Boomvalk

German ... Baumfalke

Portuguese ... gea-europeia

French ... Faucon hobereau

Dutch ... Boomvalk

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 173

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za