| Authors | Klaus Dietrich Fiuczynski |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 9783894321383 |
| Publisher | Neue Brehm Bücherei |
| Pages | 396 |
| Format | 14,5 x 20,5 cm |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Images | 139 Colour photos and illustrations |
| Year Published | 2017 |
This is an English translation of the German monograph. Note that the content has been completely updated from the original with recent findings, including a new analysis of the biocide situation, made by Peter Wegner.
Apart from the lesser spotted eagle, only two predatory birds of Germany's forests brood in midsummer: the honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), which is a specialized wasp hunter, and the Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo). The late breeding season also has trophic causes for F. subbuteo, because at that time there is a rich supply of fledglings and flying insects such as dragonflies, hymenoptera and beetles.
Previously, this small falcon has been considered a highly specialized hunter of swallows and larks. Recent studies, however, show that the hobby does not only brood in the vicinity of larger cities, but also directly in urban areas. Especially in the outskirts the hobbies hunt successfully for sparrows, greenfinches, swifts, and even escaped budgerigars.
This volume evaluates the results of many years of observations on hobbies in Berlin and Brandenburg. Many issues such as philopatry, sex ratio, European migration routes and their risks were investigated.
Today, the population of the hobby in Central Europe is threatened, and so this monograph provides knowledge which is fundamental for an effective protection of this species.
Contents (main chapters):
- Names of the Eurasian Hobby
- Systematics and subspecies: an Old World Falcon
- Field characteristics and descriptions: slate-grey upper parts, black-and-white face with moustache
- Eggs
- Voice: alarm call to soft duetting
- Biometrics: from eggs to nestlings and adults
- Habitat for breeding and hunting
- Distribution and status: a palearctic summer visit and migrant
- The Breeding Cycle
- Breeding success and mortality
- Food and breeding season
- Migration
- Predation and other risks: From Goshawk and Eagle Owl to Man
- Biocides
- Moult and preening
- Protection
