Little falcon
The Australian hobby (Falco longipennis ), also known as the little falcon, is one of six Australian members of the family Falconidae. This predominantly diurnal bird of prey derives its name ‘longipennis ’ from its long primary wing feathers. It occurs throughout Australia and other neighbouring countries with migrating individuals found on the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea.
Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Soaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust and is employed by gliding animals. Birds in particular use gliding flight to m...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withSmaller than other falcons, the Australian hobby is relatively slender and long winged. Its plumage varies in colour depending on sex, age and environment with a darker form in humid areas and a lighter form in drier environments. Generally the hobby displays a black cap and mask with a whitish forehead and half-collar. Underparts can be blue-grey or rufous and streaked darker. The cere in adults is a pale yellowish grey, the eye ring is pale blue, the eyes are brown and the feet are dull yellow. Females are larger in size between 34 – 35.5 cm and males are generally between 30 – 32 cm in length with a wing span between 66 – 87 cm. The Australian hobby is easily confused with the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus ) however the hobby is more slender, with longer and thinner wings, and is a less powerful flyer.
Hobbies occur throughout mainland Australia including offshore islands e.g. Lord Howe Island, however their range is restricted in Tasmania. Migrating individuals have also been recorded on the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea. Hobbies frequent most open habitats including open woodland, water courses and vegetated urban areas but are rarely recorded around cliffs or escarpments.
The hobby is a solitary and aggressive falcon using rapid flickering wing beats, with tail fanned when hovering. It glides on flat or slightly drooped wings with carpals flexed and outerwings swept back. Its flight is often characterised as low and fast, zig-zagging over or between vegetation and open ground. When engaged in territorial defence, hobbies have been observed soaring and circling to ward off other birds of prey e.g. little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides ). Hobbies have also been observed attacking other perched raptors with steep stoops at vegetation and shallow stoops from behind for airborne raptors.
The Australian hobby has been recorded preying on avian species including the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris ), house sparrow (Passer domesticus ), crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans ) and silvereye (Zosterops lateralis ). Research suggests they tend to avoid large, dangerous, or agile species that forage close to cover, such as the common myna (Acridotheres tristis ). Insectivorous bats and insects including beetles, cicadas, crickets and grasshoppers also form part of the hobby's diet.
Nesting usually occurs any time between August to January where an old stick nest of another large raptor is commandeered. Three to four heavily blotched eggs are laid with incubation taking about 35 days. Successful broods usually comprise two to three young. The fledglings remain dependent for up to three months after which the young disperse or migrate widely. Studies have revealed the extent of the falcon's migration. In one case, a banded fledgling left its natal territory in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, and was recovered 29 days later in Brisbane, Queensland, approximately 1000 km away. Within their nesting territory, hobbies have been recorded using several different perches for activities including, the transfer of food between male and female, for feeding independently and for guarding the nest. Research has shown that brooding is shared by both male and female hobbies. However, feeding of the nestlings after hatching becomes the responsibility of the female. Early on in the nestling period the male hunting rate increases to supplement the female with observations indicating food is brought to the nest every three hours, with a longer break in the middle of the day.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Australian hobby as a species of least concern. It is not listed as a threatened species within Australia. It is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. After dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was introduced to agriculture in 1946, egg shell thickness of some species of falcon, including the Australian hobby, was significantly reduced. This led to some decline in local populations through egg breakage during incubation but did not eventuate in widespread population decline for the Australian hobby. Hobbies are susceptible to the columbid herpesvirus-1 (CoHV-1) infection which causes death by massive splenic and hepatic necrosis. The cause of infection is often attributed to the consumption of rock pigeons (Columbia livia ) which carry the disease.
