Eurasian Hobby

A slim falcon that resembles a large swift in flight. It is a summer visitor to Europe that hunts over heaths and wetlands. It has dark slate-grey upperparts and a white throat. Its most distinctive feature is the rusty-red patch on its thighs and undertail, known as 'red trousers'. It is one of the most agile raptors.

Hobbies specialize in hunting large insects like dragonflies and fast birds like swifts. They are one of the few predators capable of catching a swift in a level chase. They often forage at dusk. They do not build nests, but use abandoned crow nests instead. Their flight is fast and graceful with scythe-like wings.