Description
One of the alternative names for the Australian Australian is the ‘Little Duck Hawk’, which is more than a little misleading. Although Hobbies regularly eat birds, they are not able to kill birds that are bigger than they are, and Hobbies are smaller than most ducks. In fact, it is the similar but larger Peregrine Falcon that often eats ducks, and the Hobby is simply considered by some people to be a smaller version of a Peregrine.
Often seen dashing past, either low to the ground or just above the treetops, the Australian Hobby is often seen hunting in vegetated urban areas, as well as in almost any lightly timbered country. Their flight varies from swift and direct with flickering wing-beats to gliding and soaring, and they regularly catch their food—small birds and insects—in the air. They sometimes eat it on the wing too, or land on a high perch where it can be torn apart. Their call is a shrill chatter.
