Falco cuvierii
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The African hobby (Falco cuvierii) is a small species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A small, slim falcon with blackish upperparts and deep rufous underparts with rufous cheek, nape and throat. At close range black streaks can be seen on the throat and flanks. The facial skin and feet are yellow. Juvenile birds are browner above with heavier streaking on the underparts and paler on cheek, nape and throat. Their length is 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and wing span 70 centimetres (28 in).
They are mostly found in the edge of moist woodlands and forests, commonest in palm savannah and gallery forest in west and western regions of East Africa. They are less common in central Africa and north-eastern Africa.
Hunts on the wing, mainly at dawn and dusk. When not breeding the African hobby is thought to feed almost entirely on flying insects: termite alates, grasshoppers, locusts, beetles and cicadas have all been recorded. Feeding concentrations of up to 30 birds have been recorded when termite alates or locusts are swarming. When breeding a high proportion of small birds such as weavers, estrildid finches and swallows up to the... Wikipedia →
Call0:14
Guinea · 2022
© Paul Lenrumé · XC710685 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 3 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 8 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 9 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 11 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Hobby sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 184th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Hobby in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, August–September and November–January, the lowest months. That is one of Niokolo-Koba National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 300 mm in August. May–July and October have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Hobby sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate African Hobby sightings, Niokolo-Koba National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, under 5%).
Same genus: Falco
The closest relatives of the African Hobby that you can see in Niokolo-Koba National Park (genus Falco, Typical Falcons) are Grey Kestrel (about 40%) and Red-necked Falcon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Hobby is recorded against all the birds logged in Niokolo-Koba National Park (11 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.
