Eurasian Hobby reaches South America for first time

A new paper has documented the first record of Eurasian Hobby for South America.

The first-calendar-year bird was discovered on a boat near the São Pedro and São Paulo archipelago, off the coast of Brazil, in December 2022.

Eurasian Hobby is a long-distance migrant, with birds breeding in Europe east to East Asia wintering primarily in southern Africa.

The occurrence of the raptor follows other records of Eurasian species in Brazil, including Corncrake and Redwing. Previously, the São Pedro and São Paulo archipelago had produced Brazil's first record of Common Kestrel.

Photos of the Eurasian Hobby discovered on a boat near the São Pedro and São Paulo archipelago, Brazil, December 2022 (anonymous photographer).

Reference

Pallinger, F, Soares, J G, and Schunk, F. 2023. First record of Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo in South America. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 143(3): 346-349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v143i3.2023.a10