African hobby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids African hobby |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Falco
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| Species: |
cuvierii
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The African hobby (Falco cuvierii) is a small bird of prey from the Falconidae family. It's a type of falcon found in many parts of Africa.
Contents
What Does the African Hobby Look Like?
The African hobby is a small, slender falcon. It has dark, almost black, feathers on its back and wings. Its belly is a deep reddish-brown. You can also see reddish-brown on its cheeks, the back of its neck, and its throat.
If you look closely, you might spot thin black lines on its throat and sides. Its face and feet are bright yellow. Young African hobbies are a bit browner on top. They have more streaks on their bellies and lighter colors on their cheeks, neck, and throat.
These birds are about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long. Their wings can spread out to about 70 centimetres (28 in) wide.
Where Does the African Hobby Live?
African hobbies mostly live near the edges of damp woodlands and forests. They are often found in areas with palm trees and along riversides in West Africa and the western parts of East Africa.
They are less common in central and northeastern Africa. These birds prefer places where they can find both trees for perching and open spaces for hunting.
How Does the African Hobby Behave and What Does It Eat?
The African hobby is a skilled hunter. It mostly hunts while flying, especially during sunrise and sunset.
When they are not raising young, African hobbies mainly eat flying insects. These include flying termites, grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, and cicadas. Sometimes, you can see up to 30 African hobbies hunting together. This happens when there are many termites or locusts swarming.
When they are breeding, they also eat many small birds. They hunt birds like weavers, estrildid finches, and swallows. They can even catch birds as big as small doves.
African hobbies hunt in two main ways. They might fly out from a perch to catch prey. Or, they might fly back and forth over their favorite hunting spots. They usually fly about 50–100 metres (160–330 ft) above the ground.
You will usually see these birds alone. But sometimes, they are in pairs or small family groups.
For their nests, they often use old stick nests built by other birds. They especially like nests made by black kites. These nests are usually high up in tall trees.
African hobbies breed at different times of the year depending on where they live. In western areas, they breed from December to June. In equatorial East Africa, it's from August to December. In southern Africa, breeding happens from September to January.
Where Can You Find the African Hobby?
The African hobby lives across a wide area of Africa. You can find them in countries like Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
These birds can sometimes move around a lot. They follow their food sources, especially when insects are swarming in different places.
About Its Family Tree
The African hobby is considered a "monotypic" species. This means it's the only species in its group that doesn't have any subspecies (different types within the species). It's part of the Falco genus, which includes all true falcons.
