Oriental Hobby
Photo: MdRezwanulAlam · CC BY-SA 4.0

Falcons and Caracaras

Oriental Hobby

Falco severus

LCLeast Concern
Family
Falcons and Caracaras (Falconidae)
Order
Falconiformes

Overview

The Oriental hobby (Falco severus) is a species of falcon typically 27–30 cm long. It can be found locally in the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the north of the Indian subcontinent, across the eastern Himalayas, east across southern China and the Philippines, and southwards through Indochina to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; its distribution is patchy, being absent from Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, despite occurring both north and south of there. It has been recorded as a vagrant from Malaysia and southern India.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds southern Asia, Malay Archipelago, and New Guinea region; winters to southern India.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.