HiveComb

🦉 The Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo)

• Falco phalcōn (Greek), falco (Lat.) falcon; the word falco is derived from falx (sickle, scythe) and means "curved in the form of a sickle", which is associated with the shape of a falcon's wing in flight or its powerful sickle-shaped claws (Gotch, 1981)
• subbuteo lat.: sub below, under, close to.., partly, buteo buzzard

A small number of these birds of prey live in the forest near the river. Every year I see them in the same place, this is a small area of forest where tall coniferous trees grow, and next to this place there are meadows. And I almost always see only one adult bird, but it is extremely rare to see young fledglings sitting on a branch waiting for dinner.

As a rule, these birds feed on other small birds, the rodents of which are abundant here in the meadows, but most often I see a parent carrying large dragonflies to their children.