Family Falcons, Caracaras (Falconidae)
Least Concern
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo)
Taxonomy
French: Faucon hobereau German: Baumfalke Spanish: Alcotán europeo
Other common names:
Northern Hobby
Taxonomy:
Falco Subbuteo
Linnaeus
, 1758,Sweden
.Closely related to F. cuvierii, with which sometimes considered conspecific; the two possibly form a group with F. severus and F. longipennis. Geographical variation largely clinal, plumage tending to become progressively paler from N to S, but individual variation also clearly evident; described forms jakutensis (N Eurasia), centralasiae (N Iran to SE Kazakhstan and E through Himalayas) and jugurtha (N Africa E to C China) all regarded as invalid. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution
F. s. subbuteo
Linnaeus, 1758 – Europe and NW Africa E through Russia, C Asia, N Pakistan, N India, Nepal#R and N China to Kamchatka, Sakhalin and N Japan (Hokkaido); winters in C & S Africa and S & SE Asia.
F. s. streichi
E. J. O. Hartert & Neumann, 1907 – S & E China S from Qin Ling Mts (S Shaanxi); possibly also N Myanmar and N Indochina.
Descriptive notes
28–36 cm; male 131–232 g, female 141–340 g; wingspan 68–84 cm. Red thighs and undertail-coverts; pale throat and cheeks contrast with densely streaked... read more
Voice
Usually silent except in courtship and late stages of breeding, when gives plaintive, excited... read more
Habitat
Open wooded areas: wooded steppes, pastures, cultivation or scrub with clumps of trees, scattered... read more
Food and feeding
Mainly insects, especially flying insects which are eaten on the wing, e.g. dragonflies, beetles, moths, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets,... read more
Breeding
Lays late, mainly in Jun–Jul; late May in some S areas. Solitary; uses unoccupied nests of corvids (e.g. crows, magpies) or other... read more
Movements
Mostly migratory, but streichi sedentary; wintering generally rare in Palearctic, e.g.... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Population levels and trends not well known; local fluctuations can be considerable, but overall possibly stable in long... read more
New paper
Meyburg, B.-U., C. Meyburg, K. D. Fiuczynski & A. Hallau (2011): Forschung mithilfe des kleinsten Satellitensenders: Baumfalken - Wanderer zwischen den Kontinenten. Falke 58: 52-59
New paper
Fiuczynski, K. D. , A. Hallau, V. Hastädt, S.Herold, G. Kehl, G. Lohmann, B.-U. Meyburg, C. Meyburg & P. Sömmer (2010). Der Baumfalke in der modernen Kulturlandschaft. Greifvögel und Falknerei 2009/2010: 230-244.
new paper
Sergio, Fabrizio, and Giuseppe Bogliani. "Eurasian hobby density, nest area occupancy, diet, and productivity in relation to intensive agriculture." Condor (1999): 806-817.