Species › Birds

Eurasian Hobby

Falco subbuteo

Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: scarce
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Alcotán europeo

36% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: Ani Sarkisyan, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 28–35 cm
Wingspan: 70–84 cm
Weight: 180–240 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce migrant (>150 post. migr.).

Identification

The size of a Lesser Kestrel but stronger and faster. In flight, long pointed wings, square-cut tail and overall dark with white throat and cheeks. Adults have red ”trousers“ and undertail-coverts. Juveniles have a paler forehead and browner upperparts. It almost exclusively captures its prey in the air (birds and insects).

Movements

Peaks in 2nd hf. April and 1st hf. October.

Ring recoveries

Chick ringed on 1.08.85 in Holland, controlled on 26.10.85 at Chiclana de la Frontera (Cadiz), 2,034 Km. away.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

36 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 2 May 1972
Latest record: 7 November 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Same genus in the Strait

Lesser Kestrel29–32 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Merlin25–30 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Common Kestrel33–39 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Red-footed Falcon28–34 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Eleonora’s Falcon36–42 cm · Migrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
GBIF taxon key: 2481035

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Ani Sarkisyan, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Eurasian Hobby

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery