Bat Hawk

Vlermuisvalk · Macheiramphus alcinus

A specialist twilight hunter with the build of a giant falcon and an enormous mouth. The Bat Hawk feeds in the short window after sunset, snatching bats and small birds in flight and gulping them down whole on the wing. By day it sits motionless and easily overlooked.

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How to identify it

Dark, falcon-shaped raptor with pointed wings and a huge gape, usually seen hunting at dusk; often shows a white throat.

Where to see it in Kruger

Near caves, bridges and big rivers, hunting in the brief twilight as bats and swifts leave their roosts.

Did you know

It catches bats in mid-air at dusk and swallows them whole while still flying.

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