Falco subbuteo
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo), or just hobby, is a small, slim falcon. It belongs to a group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus of Falco. The first formal description of the Eurasian hobby was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the present binomial name Falco subbuteo. The genus name falco derives from Late Latin falx, falcis, a sickle, referring to the wing profile of the bird. The species name subbuteo is from Latin sub, "below, less than, under" and buteo, "buzzard". The species' English name comes from Old French hobé or hobet. It became the trademark for the Subbuteo games company after its creator, who was an ornithologist, was refused permission to register "Hobby".
Two subspecies are recognized: F. s. subbuteo: the nominate race is resident in Africa, Europe and Central and East Asia, winters in Central and South Africa and South Asia Adults are slate-grey above with a dark crown and two short... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tashkent | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | |
| 2 | Yekaterinburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 4 | Daejeon | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 5 | Dushanbe | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | |
| 6 | Almaty | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 7 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Bishkek | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | |
| 9 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Almaty Zoo | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 3 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Dullstroom Bird Of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Zoopark Limpopo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Yalta Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 7 | Greifvogelpark Buchs | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 8 | The Seal Sanctuary | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | The Falconry Experience | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | záchranná stanice a ekocentrum Huslík | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Hobby sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 293rd most-seen of the 398 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Hobby in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in December to October, the lowest months. That is one of Masai Mara National Reserve's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 15 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Hobby sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
39th of 55
Of the 55 parks where we can rate Eurasian Hobby sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 39th at under 5%. The best odds are in Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 20%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 20%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 20%).
Same genus: Falco
The closest relatives of the Eurasian Hobby that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (genus Falco, Typical Falcons) are Grey Kestrel (about 20%), Lesser Kestrel (about 10%) and Common Kestrel (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Hobby is recorded against all the birds logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (38 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
