Hobby is the name given to a small-sized falcon with long, narrow wings. These birds are specialist aerial hunters that catch most of their prey mid-air. The oriental hobby and the Eurasian hobby are two species that come under the category of hobby. The oriental hobby is chestnut brown below and bluish gray above with a black hood and white throat. The Eurasian hobby is slate-gray above with a dark crown and two black streaks running downwards from the eyes.
The oriental hobby can be found on the Indian subcontinent across the eastern Himalayas, and also in Australia and Malaysia. It feeds on insects and birds and prefers forested areas, mangroves and foothill forests. Its call is a repeated ‘kee-kee-kee’. The Himalayan hobby is a migratory bird and moves south to south India and Sri Lanka for the winters. The IUCN lists them under ‘least concern’ in the Red List.
The Eurasian hobby can be found in Europe and Central Africa. It feeds on insects, birds and bats. It is a prolific hunter that can catch insects like dragonflies mid-flight and eat while still flying by transferring the prey into their mouths with their talons. These winged carnivores are so feared that small birds like barn swallows and house martins sound an alarm when they spot this raptor in the sky. This hobby can be found in open farmland, marshy lands and the savannah. It is a long distance migrant and spends winters in Africa and Asia. It is one of the fastest flying birds with a top speed of 200 km/hr. It is a very bold and plucky bird that was used in falconry and trained to hunt birds like quails, larks and hoopoes. It has a repertoire of beautiful calls which it uses to communicate with other birds. It is listed as a species of ‘Least Concern’ in the IUCN Red List.
Picture Credit : Google
