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Hobby

Hobby
Hobby
Hobby (juvenile)
Hobby (juvenile)
  • Scientific name: Falco subbuteo
  • Bird family: Falcons
  • UK conservation status: Green
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Hobby call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Patrik Aberg, Xeno-canto

Key information

About the size of a kestrel with long pointed wings, reminiscent of a giant swift. It has a 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. Can accelerate rapidly in flight and is capable of high-speed aerial manoeuvres.

Hobbies are listed as a Schedule 1 bird on The Wildlife and Countryside Act.

What they eat:

Insects and small birds.

Measurements:

Length:
28-36cm
Wingspan:
70-92cm
Weight:
131-340g

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK breeding:
2,800 pairs

Identifying features:

Hobby

Flying Hobby illustration
Feather colour: Black Blue Brown Cream/buff Grey Orange White
Leg colour: Yellow
Beak: Black Yellow Short Hooked Chunky
Natural habitats: Woodland Farmland Grassland Heathland Urban and suburban Wetland

Similar birds:

Male kestrel illustration
Kestrel
Peregrine adult
Peregrine falcon
Adult male merlin in flight
Merlin

Where and when to see them

Hobbies now breed across northern, central, southern and eastern England, southern Scotland and south Wales. Best looked for hunting over woodland and heathland, where there is plenty of large insect prey. Gravel pits are popular feeding areas in late summer when there is an abundance of food.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Hobby distribution map

Hobbies arrive in the UK from April onwards and mainly leaves in September and October. Best looked for on warm summer days when there are plenty of dragonflies, summer chafers and other prey around.

  • jan
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RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Ham Wall
  • RSPB Capel Fleet
  • RSPB West Sedgemoor
  • RSPB Amberley Wildbrooks
  • RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes
  • RSPB Surlingham Church Marsh
  • RSPB The Lodge
  • RSPB Langford Lowfields

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