Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) [XC586323]
by Sophie Neill from Vouill\u00e9, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Belgium (flight call)
Eurasian Hobby (Falco) [XC39643]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Localit\u00e0 Poderone, Magliano in Toscana, Grosseto, Italy (call)
Nest
An old crows nest high up in a tree.
Eggs (Guide)
3; whitish with heavy red-brown freckles; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 28 days; mainly by female.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with African Hobby (Falco cuvierii), and possibly also Oriental Hobby (Falco severus) and Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) and sometimes considered conspecific with African Hobby (Falco cuvierii).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
subbuteo Linnaeus, 1758 - North-western Africa and Europe east through central Asia and northern China to Kamchatka, Sakhalin and northern Japan. Winters in central and southern Africa and southern Asia.
streichi Hartert & Neumann, 1907 - Southern and eastern China, southern from Qin Ling Mts (southern Shaanxi); possibly also northern and eastern Burma and northern Indochina.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet