Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) [XC529156]
by Eddy Smith from De Chene Reserve (near Coburg), Moreland City, Victoria, Australia (call)
Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) [XC755582]
by Marc Anderson from Belair National Park (near Belair), City of Mitcham, South Australia, Australia (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly September - December, but strictly seasonal, being earlier in warmer drier areas. May not breed when conditions are unfavourable.
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Nest
A large, loosely made, platform of sticks and twigs, without a lining. It seldom if ever builds its own nest, preferring to use the deserted nest of some other bird of prey or a Raven.
Eggs (Guide)
2 or 3, occasionally 4; pale buff, thickly sprinkled with red spots and blotches; oval; about 46 x 34 mm. Incubation: about 30 days.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 35 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Oriental Hobby (Falco severus), and perhaps also with Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) and African Hobby (Falco cuvierii). Pale subspecies murchisonianus of inland and northern Australia commonly recognized, but probably invalid because intergradation occurs with dark birds of southern humid areas. Population on Lesser Sunda Is apparently a distinct subspecies, although very limited information available.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
longipennis Swainson, 1837 - Tasmania, coastal Australia, southern New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and New Britain.
murchisonianus Mathews, 1912 - Inland Australia.
hanieli Hellmayr, 1914 - Lombok, Timor, Lesser Sunda Islands.
Similar Species
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Grey Falcon (Falco hypoleucos) and, in poor light, Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) which is similar in size but has shorter, broader, less-scythe-shaped wings, rounded at the tips, and a longer, fuller tail.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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