From tiny Merlins to enormous White-tailed Eagles, the UK’s birds of prey come in all shapes and sizes. These masterful predators are a real treat to see, but they’re often super-fast and many species look quite similar, which can make identifying them a challenge. In this guide, we share some simple ID tips to help you.
Birds and wildlife
Hobby
Falco subbuteoGroup: falconsUK Conservation status:GreenHow to identify
Hobby Falcons are about the size of a Kestrel with pointed wings, looking a bit like a giant swift. They are known for their dashing flight and will chase large insects and small birds like swallows and martins. Prey is often caught in its talons and transferred to its beak in flight. Hobbies can accelerate rapidly in flight and are capable of high-speed aerial manoeuvres. Hobbies are listed as a Schedule 1 bird on The Wildlife and Countryside Act.Call
Hobby
Patrik Åberg / xeno-canto
Key features to look out for
- About the size of a Kestrel, but with longer, sharply pointed wings. They also have a shorter tail than Kestrels
- When flying they look scythe shaped, like a large Swift
- Adults have slate-grey upperparts, buff underparts with dark streaks, and white cheeks with a black ‘moustache’ and eye mask
- Distinctive russet-red feathers under tail and on legs, which look a bit like trousers
- Juveniles are browner and lack the red ‘trousers’
- Dark eyes with a yellow rim
- Black beak with yellow at the base
- Yellow legs
What’s that bird of prey
Where to see them
Hobbies hunt over open countryside, including wetlands and heathlands, across much of England and parts of Wales.
Key
- Resident
- Passage
- Summer
- Winter
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Where best to see them
Behaviour
Hobbies catch small birds and insects, such as dragonflies, on the wing, hunting them down in high-speed chases. They often transfer their prey from their talons to their beak mid-flight, something that other falcons don’t do. You might also see them soaring high in the sky, unlike Merlins, which usually fly closer to the ground.