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The Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) is a raptor
Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their claws and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
 found in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara....
 and south Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 to New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bat
Bat

Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight ....
s. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense rainforest
Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
 to semi-arid veld
Veld

The term Veld refers primarily to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrubland....
.

Bat Hawk is a slender, medium-sized bird of prey
Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their claws and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
, usually about 45 cm long. It has long wings and a falcon
Falcon

A falcon is any species of bird of prey in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings....
ine silhouette. Adults are dark brown or black, with a white patch on the throat and chest, and have a white streak above and below each eye.






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Encyclopedia


The Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) is a raptor
Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their claws and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
 found in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara....
 and south Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 to New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bat
Bat

Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight ....
s. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense rainforest
Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
 to semi-arid veld
Veld

The term Veld refers primarily to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrubland....
.

Description

The Bat Hawk is a slender, medium-sized bird of prey
Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their claws and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
, usually about 45 cm long. It has long wings and a falcon
Falcon

A falcon is any species of bird of prey in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings....
ine silhouette. Adults are dark brown or black, with a white patch on the throat and chest, and have a white streak above and below each eye. Juveniles are mottled brown and have more white plumage
Plumage

Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season....
 than adults.

Behavior


Hunting

Bats are the usual prey of the Bat Hawk, although they may eat small bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, such as swallow
Swallow

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding....
s, swift
Swift

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows but are actually not closely related to those passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with the hummingbirds....
s and nightjar
Nightjar

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats ....
s, or even insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s. They hunt by chasing their prey at high speeds in flight. About 49% of their hunts are successful . Prey is swallowed whole in midair.

The Bat Hawk is crepuscular
Crepuscular

Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight"....
 and hunts at dusk.

Breeding

Courtship
Courtship

Courtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship, a couple dates to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement....
 involves many aerial displays and stunts. The nest
Nest

A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's Egg s and/or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some life material such as twigs, grass, and leaf; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building....
 is built with sticks gathered in flight, and is about 90 cm across and 30 cm deep. The female is solely responsible for incubating
Avian incubation

Incubation is the process by which birds hatch their Egg , and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period....
 her clutch. The male often shares food with her. About a month after incubation begins, the eggs hatch, and both parents help to feed their young. 30-45 days after hatching, the young fledge
Fledge

Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of raising chicks to a fully grown state by the chick's parents....
. They leave the nest soon after.

Bat Hawks breed most years.

Conservation

Due to its large range and relatively stable population, the Bat Hawk is of least concern
Least Concern

Least Concern is an World Conservation Union category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category....
.